POLITICAL    SATIRE 

IN 

ENGLISH    POETRY 


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CAMBRIDGE   UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

ILonDon:   FETTER  LANE,  E.G. 

C.   F.  CLAY,  Manager 


CFUmljurst :    100,  PRINCES  STREET 
iSerlin:    A.  ASHER  AND  CO. 
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^tia  Sotfe:  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
iSomfiag  anti  Calcutta:    MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Ltd. 


All  rights  reserved 


POLITICAL    SATIRE 

IN 

ENGLISH    POETRY 


by 
C.   W.   PREVIT^-ORTON 

formerly  Foundation  Scholar  of 
St  John's  College,   Cambridge 


BEING    THE   MEMBERS'   PRIZE  ESSAT  FOR    190S 


Cambridge : 

at  the  University  Press 

1910 


(JTamtrilrget 

PRINTED   BY  JOHN    CLAY,    M.A. 
AT   THE   UNIVERSITY  PRESS. 


TO 

J.  R.  TANNER  Litt.D. 

IN  MEMORY 

OF 

MUCH  KINDNESS 


257897 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  pj^^E 

Preface vii 

I.    \j  Introduction :   Political  Satire  in  the  Middle 

Ages _^  .  ^     1 

II.  i  Satire  under  the  Despots :    Development  of 

Modern  Verse 31 

III.  The  Development  of  Party-Satire    ...  56 
lY.  J  The  Satiric  Age               '     92 

V.  The  Days  of  Fox  and  Pitt      ....  137 

VI.  Moore,   Praed  and  the   Modern  Mockery  in 

Rhyme 166 

VII.  \i  The  Elevated  Satire  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  193 

VIII.     Conclusion         .......  233 

Index 241 


PREFACE 

rpHE  following  pages  were  written  for  the 
-'-  Members'  English  Essay  Prize  of  1908.  Besides 
separate  editions  of  the  respective  poets,  I  have 
used  the  following  collections  :  T.  Wright's  Polit- 
ical Songs  of  England  from  the  reign  of  John  to 
that  of  Edward  II,  Political  Poems  and  Satigs 
relating  to  English  History,  composed  during  the 
period  from  the  accession  of  Edward  III  to  that 
of  Richard  III,  and  Political  Ballads  published 
in  England  during  the  Commonwealth ;  Chalmers' 
English  Poets ;  Percy's  Reliques ;  Poems  on 
Affairs  of  State  and  State-Poems ;  The  Loyal 
Garland ;  W.  W.  Wilkins'  Political  Ballads  of 
the  17 th  and  I8th  centuries  annotated ;  and  The 
New  Whig  and  New  Tory  Guides.  Among  the 
critical  works  consulted  I  owe  a  special  debt  to 
Prof  Courthope's  History  of  English  Poetry. 
I  also  wish  to  record  my  thanks  to  Dr  J.  R.  Tanner 
for  his  criticisms  and  suggestions. 

C.  W.  P.  0. 

January  1910. 


CHAPTER   I 

IXTRODUCTIOX :    POLITICAL  SATIRE  IN  THE 
MIDDLE  AGES 

From  the  aesthetic  point  of  view  there  lies  a 
justification  of  the  historical  treatment  of  litera- 
ture in  the  fuller  enjoyment  of  literature  which  it 
gives.  Even  masterpieces  gain  if  we  are  acquainted 
with  the  surroundings  their  authors  worked  in, 
the  predecessors  whose  teaching  they  bettered,  the 
disciples  who  endeavoured  to  make  their  peculiar 
achievement  a  common  possession.  But  minor 
works  depend  still  more  for  their  efiect  on  our 
further  knowledge  of  the  society  within  which  they 
were  written.  We  have  to  use  events  and  social 
structure  and  opinions  as  chemicals  to  restore  the 
faded  tints  of  these  less  lasting  pictures.  Yet  after 
all  literature  is  itself  the  best  guide  we  have  to  aid 
us  in  reconstituting  the  conditions  among  which  it 
grew.  Events  and  social  facts  give  us  a  frame- 
work, but  they  do  not  provide  a  series  of  photo- 
graphic impressions  of  contemporary  ideas  and 
notions.  That  is  done  by  literature,  in  spite  of  its 
tendency,  the   greater   the  author  the  more   to 

o.  1 


'1  ;:  INTRODUCTION  [ch. 

blend  the  exceptional  and  the  frequent,  past  and 
present.  Thus  alone,  for  the  most  part,  we  are 
enabled  to  analyse  those  shifting  currents  of  the 
national  consciousness,  an  "ocean  where  each 
kind  Doth  straight  its  own  resemblance  find." 
They  form  an  ever- varying  complex,  which  yet  in 
its  main  elements  and  in  the  methods  of  its  com- 
position has  an  aspect  of  permanence. 

From  this  function  of  literature,  as  a  record  of 
successive  phases  of  thought  and  culture,  is  derived 
a  value  of  literary  history  apart  from  aesthetic 
reasons.  We  can  trace  the  growth  of  national 
qualities,  and  their  interaction  with  the  national 
fortunes.  But  there  is  another  side  to  the  matter, 
on  which  the  study  of  literary  works  and  even  of 
ephemeral  writings  has  a  remarkable  importance. 
They  aid  us  to  attain  historical  perspective,  to  see 
things  "as  they  really  were."  For  they  show  us 
^)^  what  was  thought  by  contemporaries  of  events 
and  opiniqns  that  we  see  only  through  dissembling 
mists  of  time.  Ideas  now  grown  classic,  deeds 
that  loom  heroically  to  the  imagination,  are  shown 
to  us  in  the  dry  light  in  which  their  actors  and 
originators  saw  them.  And  the  contrary  holds 
true  as  well.  Sometimes  what  to  our  predecessors 
was  full  of  meaning,  pregnant  with  destiny,  holding 
the  key  to  the  world,  has  become  empty  to  us. 
The  theory  has  vanished  like  another :  the 
imagined  source  of  the  future  has  given  birth  to 
a  pitiful  stream  of  by-events. 


I]  LITERATURE  AND  POLITICS  3 

The  process  of  such  an  investigation  brings  its 
disillusions ;  but,  if  it  takes  away  from  the  romance 
of  the  Past,  it  adds  to  its  reality,  and  also,  though 
perhaps  this  is  an  unworthy  attraction,  to  its 
strangeness.  We  are  made  alive  to  the  fact  that 
the  Elizabethans  wore  doublet  and  hose,  that 
their  daily  habits  of  life  and  government  were 
such  and  such,  and  that,  in  consequence,  they 
took  for  granted  a  different  world  to  ours.  If 
their  conclusions  appear  often  unjustifiable 
to  us,  it  is  largely  a  matter  of  their  different 
premises. 

Thus  the  study  of  literature,  and  in  particular 
of  political  literature,  is  a  necessary  factor  in  the 
art  of  history.  How  else  are  we  to  follow  Ranke's 
maxim  and  narrate  events  as  they  actually  hap- 
pened? How  else  can  we  make  an  approach  to 
fairness  in  our  conceptions  of  former  generations  ? 
We  are  to  judge  the  actors  in  political  and 
social  development,  as  we  do  generals  in  a  cam- 
paign, by  the  qualities  they  display  among  the 
prepossessions,  the  doubtful  knowledge,  the  chang- 
ing rumours,  which  come  in  to  them  day  by  day ; 
not  from  our  own  vantage-ground  of  complete 
information  as  to  each  momentary  posture  of 
affairs  and  of  preacquaintance  with  the  later 
course  of  the  war. 

We  may  subdivide  literature  in  its  political 
bearing  into  three  compartments,  which,  however, 
are  far  from  isolated  or  even  sharply  marked  off  one 

1—2 


INTRODUCTION  [ch. 


from  another.  There  are  first  those  writings  which 
professedly  discuss  state-affairs  and  the  organization 
of  society  in  a  serious  spirit.  In  this  division  we 
may  include  such  diverse  classics  as  Rousseau's 
Contrat  Social,  and  Adam  Smith's  Wealth  of 
Nations,  such  histories  as  that  of  Clarendon,  as 
well  as  the  infinite  number  of  tracts  and  articles 
on  political  themes.  But  though  the  information 
they  provide  is  the  best  and  the  most  exact,  it 
suffers  from  various  defects.  There  is  the  narrow- 
ness of  view  of  the  practical  man,  the  sectional 
exclusiveness  of  strong  convictions,  and  that 
tendency  to  theorize  far  beyond  surrounding  cir- 
cumstances which  increases  with  the  genius  of  the 
authors :  all  defects  which  serve  to  distort  the 
true  image  of  the  time,  although  by  comparing 
one  with  another  much  may  be  done  to  give  a 
correct  general  impression. 

^  A  partial  remedy  is  also  supplied  by  the  second 
category,  the  incidental  light  thrown  on  politics 
by  pure  literature.  Ranke  ^  showed  with  consum- 
mate skill  how  the  literature  of  the  Cinquecento 
illustrates  its  politics,  even  when  no  political  refer- 
ence is  therein  made.  And  the  Victorian  novelists, 
one  would  think,  will  furnish  hereafter  the  most 
realistic  data  on  our  society  and  the  atmosphere 
in  which  our  formal  opinions  exist.  This  possi- 
bility offbrs  a  not  very  cheerful  prospect  for  the 

1  History  of  the  Popes,  Book  i.  Cap.  ii.  Sects.  3  and  4,  Book  iv. 
Sect.  9. 


I]  POLITICAL  SATIRE  5 

historians  of  the  future.  But  then  belles-lettres 
appeal  to  a  limited  public.  They  were  far  from 
having  too  wide  an  influence  among  the  classes 
which  count  in  politics,  even  in  the  aristocratic 
and  leisurely  days  of  the  past,  and  their  present- 
ment, by  description  or  implication,  of  contemporary 
life  is  also  tinged  by  that  natural  preference  for 
the  ideal,  not  to  say  the  unreal,  which  characterises 
works  of  the  imagination. 

The  third  category  is  formed  by  direct  political 
satire,  both  that  in  prose  which  would  include  no 
inconsiderable  part  of  political  speeches  and  news-  j 
paper  articles,  and  that  in  verse  which  forms  the 
subject  of  the  present  essay.  Nothing  can  be 
more  obvious  than  the  defects  of  satire.  We 
meet  with  unfairness,  untruth,  irrelevance,  incom- 
pleteness and  overcharging  at  every  step.  It  has 
the  misfortune  to  be  ephemeral  in  its  most  character- 
istic forms,  for  satires  of  genius  tend  to  gravitate 
to  the  departments  either  of  belles-lettres  or  of 
serious  discussion.  Still  it  possesses  great  merits. 
It  was  composed  for  the  general  public.  We  may 
thence  conclude  that  its  contents  lie  wholly  within 
the  ideas  of  the  time.  It  was  written  to  be 
eflective.  We  may  therefore  trust  its  vraisemblance 
and  the  popularity  of  its  arguments.  Its  very 
narrowness  is  that  of  the  man  in  the  street  or, 
to  go  back  to  earlier  times,  of  the  cofffee-house 
politician  and  the  medieval  burgess.  Perhaps  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  in  reading  political  satires 


6  INTRODUCTION  [cH. 

we  need  never  be  afraid  of  stumbling  on  theanachro- 
nous  or  the  exceptional,  save  of  course  in  mere 
technique  and  execution.  In  short  they  offer  an 
admirable  means  towards  reconstructing  the 
medium  in  which  past  politics  existed.  No  doubt 
they  are  a  quite  subordinate  object  of  historical 
inquiry,  but  one  none  the  less  valuable  within  its 
limitations. 

AVhile,  however,  political  satires  cast  many 
side-lights  on  the  state-events  with  which  they 
are  concerned,  they  also  have  their  place  in  the 
history  of  literature  for  its  own  sake.  Most  of  them 
indeed  could  hardly  hold  a  lower  rank  in  art  than 
they  do,  but  in  English  at  any  rate  there  are  a 
number  of  brilliant  exceptions,  which  by  their 
intrinsic  merit  hold  a  foremost  place ;  and  this  is 
specially  true  of  those  in  verse,  which  in  a  few 
favoured  instances  even  rise  to  the  level  of 
poetry.  The  chief  reason  for  this  distinction  is 
doubtless  the  high  state  of  political  development 
reached  by  England  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries,  which  naturally  produced 
its  effect  in  literature.  But  there  would  also  be 
the  influence  of  the  practical  English  character^ 
which  turned  to  satirize  definite  persons  and 
events  and  policies,  and  did  not  spend  itself  on 
vague  theories,  which  would  not  easily  lend  them- 
selves to  the  simplicity  and  passion  of  verse. 

But  the  famous  satires  of  the  best  period,  with 
their  expressions  of  party  policy  and  party  hatred, 


I]       EARLY  ANTI-CLERICAL  SATIRES        7 

were  led  up  to  by  a  long  development.  This  is 
what  we  might  expect.  The  highly  specialized 
satire  of  later  times  has  been  the  product  of  the 
highly  specialized  English  constitution  and  its  most 
peculiar  organ,  the  party-system.  What  is  really 
more  remarkable  is  the  very  early  appearance  of 
portents  of  this  evolution.  / 

The  process  begins  with  those  general  com- 
plaints of  the  Evils  of  the  Times  which  are  made 
justly  enough  at  any  epoch.  The  earliest  preserved 
appear  to  date  from  the  reign  of  King  John,  a  very 
natural  period,  when  we  consider  that  the  welding 
of  the  English  into  a  self-conscious  nation  was 
nearing  its  completion  under  the  unwilling  au- 
spices of  that  monarch.  Of  course  satiric  ballads 
would  exist  before  in  all  probability,  but  their 
preservation  shows  the  interest  they  now  aroused 
among  the  political  classes.  Curiously  enough 
there  is  something  to  be  said  against  the  citation 
of  these  compositions  as  English  political  ballads 
at  all;  for  they  are  written  not  against  King  or 
Barons,  with  hits  at  Magna  Carta  and  the  due 
scale  of  reliefs,  but  against  the  corruptions  of  the 
Church;  and  their  language  is  Latin  or  Norman- 
French,  never  English.  But  we  have  to  take 
account  of  the  spirit  which  animates  them  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  time.  The  Church  under 
Innocent  III  was  the  greatest  political  organiza- 
tion extant:  the  educated  classes  in  the  year  1200 
would  blush  to  write  in  English.     Then  their  more 


8  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [ch. 

essential  characters  are  lay  and  national.  They 
are  invectives  against  the  defects  of  the  political 
structure  of  the  Middle  Ages,  of  which  the  Church 
formed  the  most  organized  part.  It  is  the  national 
grievances  of  Papal  exactions,  of  misused  endow- 
ments and  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  with  which 
they  are  concerned,  not  with  theological  discussions 
or  heresy  and  schism.  It  is  amusing  to  us  to  read 
their  irate  descriptions  of  those  church-officials 
who  harassed  every-day  life  for  its  peccadilloes ; 
the  archdeacon,  most  hated  of  all,  with  his  little 
court  for  too  frequent  steps  aside :  the  rural  dean, 
who,  it  seems,  could  make  himself  very  unpleasant, 
"insidias  natus  ad  aeternas."^  Still  to  the  sufferers, 
who  were  tried  under  the  elaborate  Canon  Law 
with  its  keen  cross-examination  and  its  scale  of 
fines,  it  can  have  been  no  laughing  matter,  and  the 
grievance  was  not  lightened  by  the  gay  life  which 
the  rigorous  and  inquisitive  clerics  sometimes  led. 
The  expense,  too,  of  their  procedure  with  regard 
to  such  matters  as  wills,  marriages  and  contracts, 
which  lay  within  their  jurisdiction,  was  naturally 
irksome.  Nor  can  we  very  well  blame  the  satirists 
for  not  seeing  as  we  do  that  the  odious  courts, 
which  covered  the  land  like  a  net  and  intervened 
at  the  birth,  death  and  marriage  of  everyone 
mulctable,  were  raising  the  standard  of  accepted 
morality  from  the  barbaric  level  of  the  Dark  Ages. 

^  One  function  of  the  rural  dean  was  to  present  cases  for  the 
archdeacon's  court. 


I]       EARLY  ANTI-CLERICAL  SATIRES        9 

Higher  game  was  struck  at  in  the  persons  of  the 
political  bishops  of  the  Angevins,  who  took  a  see  as 
a  sort  of  ministerial  pension.  One  song  is  so  telling, 
with  so  keen  and  lively  a  wit,  that  it  must  be 
quoted.  Three  bishops  under  John  directed  the 
royal  administration  and  neglected  that  of  their 
dioceses.    The  song  goes — 

Si  praesuli  Bathoniae 

Fiat  quandoque  quaestio, 
Quot  marcae  bursae  regiae 

Accedant  in  Scaccario; 
Respoiidet  voce  libera, 
Mille,  centum  et  caetera, 
Ad  bursam  regis  colligo, 
Doctus  in  hoc  decalogo, 

Caecus  in  forma  canonis. 


Wintoniensis  armiger 

Praesidet  ad  Scaccarium, 
Ad  computandum  impiger, 

Piger  ad  Evangelium, 
Regis  revolvens  rotulum; 
Sic  lucrum  Lucam  superat, 
Marco  marcam  praeponderat, 

Et  librae  Librum  subiicit. 

The  gay,  tripping  metre  of  these  lines  and  their 
ready  sarcasms  give  us  a  glimpse  of  popular  feeling, 
even  though  tinged  with  a  little  pedantry  and 
equipped  with  puns  almost  too  ingenious  for  the 
vulgar  tongue.  But  they  treat  of  obvious  matters, 
and  must,  one  would  think,  have  been  gaily  sung 
to  the  strumming  of  his  cittern  by  any  clerk  like 
Chaucer's  Absolon.  Indeed  the  clerical  public  was 
larger  and  more  representative  than  it  might  seem 
at  first  sight.   There  was  a  swarm  of  clerks  in  minor 


^ 


10  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [CH. 

orders,  who  were  by  no  means  segregated  from  the 
world,  even  to  the  small  extent  a  parson  might  be. 
These  men  no  doubt  helped  to  form  the  views  of 
their  neighbours,  but  their  value  to  us  perhaps  is 
chiefly  that  they  reflect  feelings  fairly  general. 
There  is  almost  a  bourgeois  tone  to  be  found  in 
their  compositions.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  the 
austerer  side  of  life  they  suggest.  Young  scholars, 
fresh  from  Paris,  were  not  likely  to  be  the  most 
regular  of  men.  They  would  often  be  gay  wanderers, 
living  from  hand  to  mouth,  with  a  grudge  against 
staid  persons  who  had  attained  preferment. 

But  it  is  possible  that  a  greater  man  than  the 
ruck  of  Goliards,  as  the  less  reputable  clerks  were 
called,  took  up  the  style.  At  any  rate  the  author 
of  Golias,  the  most  famous  satire  on  the  clergy,  was 
later  supposed  to  be  Walter  Map,  the  courtier  of 
Henry  H,  and  other  Latin  poems,  in  a  similar  vein, 
ascribed  to  Golias,  "the  father  of  the  Goliards,"  were 
thought  his.  One  composition  may  be  quoted,  which 
attacks  not  the  amphibious  bishops  of  the  king,  but 
the  Papal  Curia  itself  It  would  be  a  hazardous 
conjecture  to  say  that  it  had  official  inspiration ;  still 
it  could  not  have  been  disagreeable  to  King  John, 
as  it  appeared  during  his  quarrel  with  Rome,  when 
England  lay  under  the  Interdict.  Besides,  the  early 
Angevin  kings  were  by  preference  firm  in  insisting 
on  the  rights  of  the  Crown  and  of  the  secular  state 
as  against  the  claims  of  the  Church.  Henry  II  had 
begun  the  long  contest  between  the  Common  and 


I]  THE  BARONS'  WAR  11 

the  Civil  Law  over  the  great  debatable  tract  of 
criminal  and  civil  jurisdiction  to  which  both 
ecclesiastic  and  secular  state  made  mutually  ex- 
clusive pretension :  and  the  success,  which  he 
obtained  in  spite  of  his  striking  defeat  in  the  Becket 
controversy,  gave  the  general  tone  to  English  policy 
till  the  Reformation.  Nor  was  the  tendency  con- 
fined to  England  alone  :  the  rapacity  of  the  Curia 
was  a  grievance  of  Christendom,  and  "Golias"' 
satire  is  at  most  edged  by  the  sharper  English 
contest.  With  all  its  faults  of  bizarre,  infantine  art 
there  is  no  denying  the  wit  of  his  invective. 

Roma  capit  singulos  et  res  singulorum, 
Romanorum  curia  non  est  nisi  forum. 
Ibi  sunt  venalia  iura  senatorum, 
Et  solvit  contraria  copia  nummorum. 


Papa,  si  rem  tangimus,  nomen  habet  a  re, 
Quicquid  habent  alii,  solus  vult  papare ; 
Vel  si  verbum  Gallicum  vis  apoeopare, — 
Paez,  Paez,  dit  le  mot,  si  vis  impetrare. 

In  comparing  this  satire  on  the  Curia  with  that 
on  the  Three  Bishops,  one  feels  tempted  to  say  that 
already  the  two  leading  varieties  of  English  satire 
appear  in  embryo,  the  popular  ballad  and  the 
learned  invective.  Both  were  to  become  more 
natural  and  more  artistic,  as  they  grew  to  distinc- 
tive forms,  but  the  root  of  the  matter  is  there. 
The  Hudibrastic  rhyme  and  the  learned  mockery  of 
"  Golias  "  have  some  faint  kinship  with  Butler,  as 
the  lighter  vein  of  the  attack  on  the  Bishops  is  an 
unconscious  predecessor  of  Praed. 


N 


12  THE  MIDDLE   AGES  [ch. 

The  same  complaints  continue  during  the  shift- 
less rule  of  Henry  HI,  with  greater  cause,  but  less 
merit.  Towards  the  end  of  the  reign,  however,  the 
disputes  between  the  King  and  the  Barons  give  a 
fresh  impetus  to  satire.  One  symptom  of  this  may 
be  seen  in  the  Complaint  of  the  Church  (1256) 
on  the  taxation  raised  by  the  King  and  Pope 
Alexander  IV  for  their  scheme  to  drive  the 
Hohenstaufen  from  Southern  Italy. 

Li  rois  ne  I'apostoile  ne  pensent  altrement, 
M^s  coment  au  clers  tolent  lur  or  et  lur  argent. 

Now  for  the  first  time  two  clearly  defined  national 
parties  appear  in  English  history,  each  with  a 
political  programme  and  conscious  ideals.  There 
had  been  progress  in  collective  national  feeling 
since  the  days  of  John.  The  separation  from  the 
erstwhile  French  possessions  of  the  Angevins,  the 
frequent  Parliaments  since  1215  with  their  more 
representative  character,  and  the  mere  efflux  of 
time  which  allowed  the  slow  influences  of  trade 
and  government  to  take  effect,  all  combined 
to  increase  and  solidify  an  English  patriotism. 
Thus  it  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  the  earliest 
political  ballad  in  English  which  has  come  down  to 
us  is  a  song  of  triumph  over  the  Barons'  victory  at 
Lewes  in  1264.  Its  excellence  presupposes  older 
ballads  indeed,  but  now  the  guiding  classes  of  the 
population  clearly  felt  the  appeal  of  the  English 
tongue.  How  vigorous  it  is,  may  be  seen  from  a 
brief  quotation. 


I]  THE  BATTLE  OF  LEWES  13 

The  Kyng  of  Almaigne  wende  do  ful  wel, 
He  saisede  the  muhie  for  a  castel, 
With  hare  sharpe  swerdes  he  grounde  the  stel, 
He  wende  that  the  sayles  were  mangonel 

to  helpe  Wyndesore. 
Richard,  thah  thou  be  ever  trichard, 

trichen  shalt  thou  never  more. 

Poor  Richard  of  Cornwall,  the  King  of  Germany 
here  assailed,  did  not  perhaps  deserve  so  severe  a 
scorn,  but  he  shared  the  fate  of  all  cross-benchers 
and  friends  of  moderate  reform.  It  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  the  party  he  went  a  quarter  of  the 
way  with  and  then  deserted  would  appreciate  the 
fact  that  he  wished  for  good  government,  and  yet 
not  the  destruction  of  his  royal  brother's  power. 
Besides,  he  was  patron  of  the  hated  Jews  and 
shared  in  their  profits.  Yet  to  the  thorough-going 
Simon  de  Montfort  both  his  foreign  extraction  and 
his  greed  of  possessions  were  forgiven.  The  taint 
of  unfairness,  already  visible  in  the  attacks  on  the 
Church,  is  in  fact  nearly  inseparable  from  political 
satire,  which  is  nothing  if  it  is  not  pointed  with 
malice  or  indignation. 

A  nobler  production  is  the  Latin  Battle  of 
Lewes.  It  is,  however,  only  partially  a  satire,  being 
in  essence  a  sober  statement  of  the  case  of  the 
baronial  party.  Passages  of  invective  are  rare, 
the  description  of  the  future  Edward  I,  with  its 
allusion  to  his  armorial  bearings^,  standing  almost 
alone. 

1  The  author  uses  the  French  blazonry  of  leopards,  not  lions, 
for  the  royal  shield. 


14  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [CH. 

Cui  comparabitur  nobilis  Edwardus? 
•Forte  nominabitur  recte  Leopardus. 
Si  nomeii  dividimus  leo  fit  et  pardus. 


Leo  per  superbiam  et  ferocitatem, 
Est  per  inconstaiitiam  et  varietatem 
Pardus,  verbum  varians  et  promissionem, 
Per  placentem  pallians  se  locutioiiem. 
Cum  in  arcto  fuerit  quicquid  vis  promittit; 
Bed  mox  ut  evaserit  promissum  dimittit. 

Even  here  the  author  quickly  turns  to  an  elevated 

and  unembittered  tone. 

0  Edwarde !  fieri  vis  rex,  sine  lege ; 
Vere  forent  miseri  recti  tali  rege! 
Nam  quid  lege  rectius  qua  cuncta  reguntur, 
Et  quid  iure  verius  quo  res  discernuntur  ? 
Si  regnum  desideras,  leges  venerare; 
Vias  dabit  asperas  leges  impugnare, 
Asperas  et  invias  quae  te  iion  perducent; 
Leges  si  custodias  ut  lucerna  lucent. 

This  appeal  to  law,  which  perhaps  really  influenced 

I  Edward  and  the  future  through  him,  strikes  a 

familiar  note  in  English  history  ;  and  surely  it  has 

never  been  made  in  a  finer  spirit.     Its  moderation 

and  dignity  rest  on  a  foundation  of  good  sense.     A 

law-abiding  habit  has  been  instilled  into  the  race  by 

the  continuity  and  regularity  of  their  institutions. 

Our  author  was  one  of  those  who,  taught  by  Latin 

theology,  helped  to  raise  an  habitual  preference  to 

the  rank  of  an  idea. 

The  same  fairness  and  patriotism  run  through 

the  rest  of  the  poem.     We  hardly  have  to  deduct 

the  outburst  against  the  King's  advisers  and  foreign 

friends. 

Quid  si  tales  miseri,  talesque  mendaces, 
Adhaererent  lateri  principis,  capaces 
Totius  malitiae,  fraudis,  falsitatis 


I]  THE  BATTLE  OF  LEWES  15 

The  King  s  case,  perhaps,  is  given  as  too  purely 
feudal.  Why  should  the  King  be  fettered  in  the 
exercise  of  his  rights,  when  the  barons  were 
not  in  the  exercise  of  theirs?  Yet  the  writer, 
though  somewhat  dimly,  sees  that  kingship  is  a 
different  thing  from  feudal  lordship.  Only  God 
could  rule  uncounselled  and  without  restrictions : 
nor  does  power  among  men  mean  the  free  indul- 
gence of  caprice.  Then  with  a  flash  of  insight  he 
declares  that  actual  power  depends  on  personal 
character.  No  prerogative  could  make  the  unfit 
lead. 

Durum  est  diligere  se  non  diligentem ; 
Durum  non  despicere  se  despicientem ; 
Durum  non  resistere  se  destituenti; 
Convenit  applaudere  se  suscipienti. 

The  evils  from  baronial  tyranny  can  be  remedied 
by  the  feudal  superior,  the  King  :  but  the  evils  pro- 
ceeding from  an  unwise  sovran  can  only  be  remedied 
by  the  community. 

Igitur  communitas  regni  consulatur; 
Et  quid  universitas  sentiat,  sciatur, 
Cui  leges  propriae  maxime  sunt  notae. 
Nee  cuncti  provinciae  sic  sunt  idiotae, 
Quin  sciant  plus  caeteris  regni  sui  mores, 
Quos  relinquunt  posteris  hii  qui  sunt  priores. 

The  King  rules  by  and  under  the  law  which  governs 
all  things,  and  the  law  for  men  is  to  be  found  in 
custom  and  precedent,  to  be  known  as  local  rights 
were  known  by  the  Inquests  of  the  Angevins. 
Nothing  could  be  more  English  than  all  this,  and 
perhaps  the  same  applies  to  the  rather  lame  con- 
clusion ;  that  the  King  should  therefore  rule  with 


16  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [ch. 

j  the  counsel  of  his  barons,  to  whose  veiled  oligarchy 
I  the  "  universitas  "  suddenly  dwindles.     Yet  after  all 
I  this  was  as  far  as  the  subdivision  of  authority  could 
I  then  profitably  go.     On  the  whole  the  poem  leaves 
j   an  impression  of  consistent  thought  and  high  ideals. 
I    It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that,  curiously  groping 
i    as  it  is  in  its  medieval  way,  it  strikes  the  keynote 
j    of  English  political  development. 
!         It  would  seem  that  there  is  generally  a  lowering 
of  tone,   as  a  great  political  change  progresses. 
Details  and  ways  and  means  have  to  be  worked 
out,  lesser  men  join  the  flowing  tide,  and  a  some- 
what sordid,  but  effective,  practicality  succeeds  the 
visions  of  genius.     So  it  has  happened  in  the  re- 
volutions of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  and  the  same 
^L/J  pi'ocess  is  not  less  visible  as  the  despotism  of  the 
f;  .    Angevins  changes  into  the  less  potent  monarchy 
of  the  Edwards.     Again,  party-divisions  became 
obscured  :  clear  issues  dropped  out  of  sight  under 
the  great  first  Edward.     We  find  ourselves  again 
among  ballads  on  the  evils  of  the  times,  heavy 
taxation — "Non  est  lex  sana,  quod  regi  sit  mea 
lana  " — and  corrupt  oppressive  judges.    One  Latin 
skit  on  the  latter  is  lively  enough.   Undue  influence 
of  various  kinds,  it  seems,  could  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  bench. 

Sed  si  quaedam  nobilis, 
Pulcra  vel  amabilis, 

cum  capite  cornuto, 

auro  circumvoluto, 
Accedat  ad  iudicium, 
Haec  expedit  negotium, 

ore  suo  muto. 


I]  THE  EARLY  FOURTEENTH  CENTURY  17 

We  might  almost  be  listening  to  an  early  per- 
formance of  Trial  by  Jury, 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  all  this  criticism 
should  be  intelligent.  One  really  charming  French 
song  protests  against  the  new  strictness  of  the 
ordinance  of  Trailbaston  ;  but  the  romantic  outlaw 

En  le  bois  de  Belregard,  ou  vole  le  jay, 
Et  chaunte  russinole  touz  jours  santz  delay, 

has  only  a  partial  claim  to  sympathy.    He  was  a 
public  nuisance. 

Another  song  in  French  and  English  may  be 
cited  for  a  skilful  gibe  on  the  chronic  non- 
observance  of  Magna  Carta,  as  well  as  for  being 
an  instance  of  bilingual  composition : 

La  chartre  fet  de  eyre, 

Jeo  I'enteink  et  bien  le  crey, 

It  was  holde  to  neih  the  fire, 
And  is  molten  al  awey. 

Yet,  although  the  individual  satiric  poems  of 
the  late  Thirteenth  and  first  half  of  the  Fourteenth 
century  are  themselves  unimportant,  it  is  interesting 
to  observe  the  changes  which  take  place  in  them. 
Norman-French  disappears  under  Edward  HI,  at 
the  same  epoch  as  it  gives  way  to  English  in  the 
Chancellors'  speeches  to  Parliament.  Their  Latinity 
too  becomes  decidedly  unattractive ;  written  in 
rough  leonine  hexameters,  where  the  end  of  a  line 
rhymes  with  the  middle,  it  seems  peculiarly  devoid 
of  taste  or  originality.  Very  characteristic,  too,  is 
the  "  sentence,"  or  classic  tag,  trite  and  ill-applied, 

o.  >^  2 


18  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [ch. 

which  forms  the  last  line  of  a  quatrain  for  such 
as  are  composed  in  stanzas.  The  knowledge  of  tlie 
medieval  writer  was  a  patchwork  of  all  sorts  and 
sizes,  but  for  him  it  was  all  of  equal  value,  part  of 
the  world's  accumulated  lore.  The  French  and 
Scottish  wars,  too,  produced  a  new  kind  of  satire, 
the  abuse,  to  put  it  plainly,  of  inimical  foreign 
nations,  which  was  to  be  cultivated  with  greater 
skill  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  Four  lines  on 
Philip  of  France  will  show  how  bad  it  can  be. 

Deficit  Ogerus,  Karolus,  Rodland,  Oliverus, 
Cor  tibi  pes  leporis,  dat  aper  tibi  facta  leporis. 
In  proprio  climat  tibi  dicit  aper  cito  chekmat: 
Nee  dices  liveret,  lepus  es,  aper  est  tibi  firet. 

The  boar  who  plays  this  exceedingly  technical  game 
of  chess  is  of  course  Edward  III.  Certainly  the 
new  feeling  of  national  identity  deserved  a  better 
singer  than  this  satirist. 

A  popular  king  and  a  successful  war  do  not, 
however,  present  the  best  environment  for  the 
growth  of  political  satire.  The  evils  of  the  decline 
of  Edward  III  and  the  misgovernment  under 
Richard  II  not  only  revivified  the  genre  of  writing, 
but  provided  at  least  one  really  eminent  satirist  for 
English  poetry. 

At  this  point  we  are  met  with  the  new  difficulty 
as  to  whether  the  reviser  (B)  of  Piers  the  Plow- 
man in  1376  be  the  same  as  the  original  author 
(or  authors)  of  the  poem  (A)  ni  1361  ^     But  after 

1  See  Prof.  J.  M.  Manly's  chapter  in  the  Cambridge  History  of 
English  Literature,  Vol.  ii. 


I]  PIERS  THE  PLOWMAN  19 

all  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  an  opinion  here, 
for,  so  far  as  politics  are  concerned,  B  adds 
fervour  and  detail  to  the  heads  of  an  indictment 
already  formulated  or  implied  by  A,  and  C, 
the  latest  revision  (later  than  1392),  enjoys  the 
benefit  of  the  genius  of  the  former  versions.  In 
any  case  the  political  side  of  the  poem  in  all  its 
forms  is  due  to  its  general  denunciation  of  the  Evils 
of  the  Times,  corrupt  clergy,  corrupt  judges,  corrupt 
ministers.  It  does  indeed  show  us  the  steady  pro- 
gress to  anarchy  the  nation  was  making,  with  its 
development  arrested  by  the  French  wars  and  the 
Black  Death,  its  social  order  decaying  and  its 
administration,  both  lay  and  ecclesiastical,  in  many 
respects  vexatious.  The  inspiration  of  much  of  the? 
poetry  need  only  be  alluded  to :  the  political 
philosophy  contained  does  not,  perhaps,  deserve 
great  praise,  and  compares  unfavourably  with  that 
of  the  Battle  of  Lewes.  The  King  is  to  rule  as  a 
monarch,  and  be  guided  by  Reason  and  Conscience, 
and,  this  being  so,  all  will  be  well.  The  Community 
will  grant  ample  means  to  such  a  prince.  In  fact, 
Be  good  and  you  will  be  happy.  As  a  call  to 
righteousness,  the  poem  takes  a  high  place  ;  but  it 
belongs  to  prophetic,  more  than  to  political  litera- 
ture, and  somehow  or  other  it  does  not  give  that 
impression  of  intellectual  eminence,  which  makes 
the  most  whimsical  scholastic  theology  of  Dante 
bearable.  But,  perhaps,  it  is  ungrateful  to  make 
such  a  criticism,  remembering  the  vivid  descrip- 

2—2 


20  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [ch. 

tions,  the  lifelike  impersonations,  and  the  peculiar 
worthiness  of  the  poem. 

From  the  historical  point  of  view  one  noticeable 
fact  about  it  is  the  evidence  it  gives  of  the 
approaching  break-down  of  the  medieval  polity. 
It  is  not  merely  that  there  were  grievances ;  but 
the  very  remedies  for  grievances  and  the  institu- 
tions on  which  medieval  society  rested  had  become 
oppressive.  In  the  Church,  the  courts  Christian 
were  corrupt  and  a  source  of  petty  irritation  ;  the 
Friars  too  often  summed  up  popular  vices  ;  hermits 
were  an  odious  description  of  rogue,  not  easily 
distinguishable  from  the  valiant  beggars  soon  to 
appear  in  legislation.  The  law  courts  gave  decisions 
for  fear  or  favour.  Lady  Mede  was  the  aim  of  both 
clerk  and  layman.  The  meaning  of  this  indictment 
is  clear,  when  we  consider  that  these  institutions 
represented  the  progress  of  civilization  and  the 
means  devised  to  protect  the  weak  against  the 
strong  which  were  the  outcome  of  two  hundred 
years  of  eifort.  No  wonder  the  author,  whether  he 
be  the  traditional  Langland  or  another,  took  refuge 
like  Dante  in  the  idea  of  the  good  monarch,  though 
he  did  not  perceive  to  the  degree  Dante  did  the 
need  of  organizing  society,  if  to  ev  ^rjv  was  to  be 
obtained.  Yet  in  some  ways  he  is  more  advanced 
than  the  Florentine.  The  stress  he  lays  on  inward 
religion,  it  has  been  justly  remarked,  shows  the 
stirrings  of  the  spirit  which  was  to  inspire  the  Re- 
formation.   Dante  is  never  happy  with  his  deepest 


I]  PIERS  THE  PLOWMAN  21 

emotions,  and  they  are  far  deeper  than  "Langland's," 
till  he  has  provided  them  with  a  formal  classification 
and,  so  to  say,  an  official  channel  by  which  they  are 
to  take  efiect. 

The  second  version  (B)  of  Piers  the  Plow- 
ffian  was  composed  in  the  last  year  (1376-7)  of 
Edward  III,  at  a  time  when  the  Good  Parliament 
had  just  attempted  to  correct  notorious  abuses. 
A  result  of  its  date  is  seen  in  the  very  inartistic 
interpolation  of  the  Fable  of  the  Rats  and  Cat 
in  the  Prologue.  Blot  as  it  is  on  its  context,  how- 
ever, it  has  considerable  vivacity,  and  contains 
moreover  the  directest  political  satire  in  the  poem. 
The  Good  Parliament  is  here  described  as  a  "route 
of  ratones  "  anxious  to  protect  themselves  against 
ill-treatment  by  a  "  cat  of  a  courte,"  Edward  III. 
A  "  raton  of  renon  "  thereupon  advises  belling  the 
cat.  His  proposal  is  immediately  adopted,  but  of 
course  none  dare  perform  the  operation.  Then  a 
wise  mouse  gives  them  his  opinion,  and  reminds 
them  of  the  worse  times  suffered  when  the  cat  is 
a  kitten,  an  evident  allusion  to  the  child-heir, 
Richard.    The  cat  is  a  useful  animal, 

"For  may  no  renke  there  rest  have- 

for  ratones  bi  nyghte; 
The  Avhile  he  caccheth  conynges- 

he  coveiteth  nought  owre  caroyne 
But  fet  hym  al  with  venesoun- 

defame  we  hym  neuere. 
For  better  is  a  litel  losse* 

than  a  longe  sorwe, 
The  mase  amonge  us  alle- 

though  we  mysse  a  schrewe. 


22  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [CH. 

For  many  mannus  malt- 

we  mys  wolde  destruye, 
And  also  ye  route  of  ratones- 

rende  mennes  clothes, 
Nere  that  cat  of  that  courte- 

that  can  yow  ouerlepe; 
For  had  ye  rattes  yowre  wille- 

ye  couthe  nought  reule  yowreselue. 
I  sey  for  me!  quod  the  mous- 

.    1  se  so  mykel  after, 
Shal  neuer  the  cat  ne  the  kitoun- 

bi  my  conseille  be  greued, 
Ne  carpyng  of  this  color- 

that  costed  me  neure. 
And  though  it  had  coste  me  catel- 

biknowen  it  I  nolde. 
But  suflfre  as  hymself  wolde- 

to  do  as  hym  liketh, 
Coupled  and  uncoupled- 

to  cacche  what  thei  mo  we. 
For-thi  uche  a  wise  wighte  I  warne- 

wite  wel  his  owne." 


Thus  the  fabulist  expresses  the  sense  of  Stubbs' 
formula,  that  political  development  had  outrun 
administrative  order.  The  remedy,  it  will  be 
noticed,  is  quite  elementary,  maintain  the  royal 
power ;  and  was  applied  with  success  under  the 
Tudors.  The  literary  merit  of  the  fable  is  con- 
siderable ;  although  the  author  is  not  a  born  story- 
teller like  Chaucer,  he  has  humour  and  the  power 
of  characterization. 

Of  the  various  poems  belonging  to  the  same 
school  as  Piers  the  Plowman,  the  most  striking 
is  the  fragment  of  a  satire  on  Richard  II's  mis- 
government,  Mum,  Sothsegger/,  styled  Richard  the 
Redeless  by  Professor  Skeat.  Here  the  political 
views  of   the  author  are  outspoken.    They  are 


I]  RICHARD   THE  REDELESS  23 

Lancastrian  in  tendency,  and  the  character  given 
of  the  King  does  not  lean  to  mercy. 

Now,  Richard  the  redeles- 

reweth  on  you  self, 
That  lawless  leddyn  youre  lyf  • 

and  youre  peple  bothe; 
ffor  thoru  the  wyles  and  wronge- 

and  wast  in  youre  tyme, 
Ye  were  lyghtlich  ylyfte* 

ffrom  that  you  leef  thoughte. 
And  from  youre  willfull  werkis- 

youre  will  was  chaungid. 
And  rafte  was  youre  riott- 

and  rest,  ffor  youre  daiez 
Weren  wikkid  thoru  youre  cursid  counceill- 

youre  karis  weren  newed, 
And  coueitise  hath  crasid- 

youre  croune  ffor  euere! 

It  is  well  known  how  Richard  was  accustomed  to 
insist  on  his  "  regality  "  and  the  power  inherent  in 
the  crown.  On  this  the  poet  makes  apt  and  sombre 
comment. 

ffor  legiance  without  loue* 

litill  thinge  availith. 

Besides  invective  against  the  King's  favourites, 

Men  myghten  as  well  haue  huntyd- 
an  hare  with  a  tabre, 

As  aske  ony  mendis- 

ffor  that  they  mysdede — 

we  find  the  stock  complaint  of  a  fourteenth  century 
reformer  that  Richard's  extravagant  court  made 
his  revenue  insufficient ; 

For  where  was  euere  ony  cristen  kynge- 

that  ye  euere  knewe, 
That  helde  swiche  an  household- 

be  the  half-delle 
As  Richard  in  this  rewine- 

thoru  myserule  of  other — 


24  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [ch. 

and  the  best  strokes  of  satire  in  the  whole  are 
aimed  at  the  taxation  granted  by  the  servile 
Parliament  of  1397-8.  Its  opening  is  described ; 
then  come  the  demands  made,  and  the  behaviour 
of  the  packed  Commons. 

Than  satte  summe* 

as  siphre  doth  in  awgrym, 
That  noteth  a  place- 

and  no-thing  availith; 


And  somme  slombrid  and  slepte- 

and  said  but  a  lite; 


w 


And  some  were  so  soleyne- 

and  sad  of  her  wittis, 

That  er  they  come  to  the  clos- 

acombrid  they  were, 

That  thei  the  conclucioun  than- 

constrewe  ne  couthe. 

These  are  the  perennial  defects  of  Parliaments, 
and  perhaps  are  more  desirable  than  an  unstaunched 
flow  of  rhetoric.  Earlier  in  the  poem  Richard's 
^'7  ^  h dealings  with  his  rivals,  his  uncle  Gloucester  and 
others,  are  told.  The  characters  appear  under  the 
names  of  their  badges,  the  White  Hart  (the  King), 
the  Swan  (the  Duke  of  Gloucester),  and  so  on  ;  for 
the  author  is  well  aware  how  the  prevalence  of 
Livery  and  Maintenance,  and  of  be-badged  re- 
tainers, was  destroying  internal  order.  The  tone 
assumed  is  that  of  a  loyalist,  a  method  which  in- 
creases the  force  of  the  indictment  against  the 
redeless  king.  Whether  the  poem  had  any  effect 
at  the  time,  one  cannot  say  ;  it  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  finished. 


I]  THE  VILLEINS'   REVOLT  25 

There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt  of  the  influence 
of  Piers  the  Plowman  itself  and  of  its  sequels,  the 
Visions  of  Do-wel,  Do-bet  and  Do-best.  That 
influence  was  strangely  contrary  to  the  monarchical 
author's  (or  authors')  intention.  "  His  bold  words  " 
were  "  perverted  into  watchwords  of  insurgency  ^" ; 
and  the  call  to  righteousness  became  one  to  robbery 
and  arson  in  the  Villeins'  Revolt  of  1381,  which  was 
itself,  like  the  poems,  a  sign  of  the  deep-seated  evils 
of  the  times.  But  it  is  remarkable  how  much  less 
was  their  effect  on  the  general  course  of  English 
literature.  This  was  partly  due  to  their  metre,  as 
Mr  Courthope  points  out.  The  old  alliterative  verse 
was  really  best  suited  for  a  past  stage  of  the 
language,  and  was  monotonous  and  awkward  even 
in  the  Middle  English  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
The  new  supple  style  and  syntax  of  Chaucer  were 
only  possible  in  the  newly -imported  French  metres  ; 
and  an  occasionally  fine  effect  of  melancholy 
harmony  cannot  compensate  for  their  lack.  The 
choice  of  the  old  English  metre  shows  a  defect  in 
the  sense  of  form,  which  is  borne  out  by  the  often 
homely  language  and  the  shapeless  structure  of  the 
poems ^.  Thus  in  composition,  as  well  as  in  ideas, 
"Langland"  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  old  order. 

1  Prof.  Skeat. 

"^  This  is  true,  whether  one  or  more  hands  be  concerned  in  the 
various  versions.  In  the  first  case  one  man  of  genius  will  be 
responsible  for  these  defects  ;  in  the  other  they  will  be  parcelled 
out  among  the  authors,  the  case  of  the  last,  who  did  not  see  the 
ruin  he  was  working  by  his  additions,  being  the  worst. 


26  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [ch. 

The  moral  earnestness  of  the  poems  does  not  show- 
any  heretical  colouring,  although  we  may  recognize 
an  affinity  with  the  pioneers  of  later  religious 
change.  But  "Langland"  was  no  lover  of  new 
things.  He  looks  on  all  the  evils  of  his  day  as 
corruptions  of  an  ideal  system,  not  as  the  results 
of  the  decay  of  a  superannuated  one :  the  notion 
of  recovering  a  simpler  past,  so  notable  among 
the  Lollards  and  the  revolutionary  peasants  of 
the  day,  does  not  seem  much  to  appeal  to  him. 
His  imagination  was  almost  oppressed  by  the 
present. 
^<i0L^  It  was    as  well   perhaps   that    these    defects 

;^{U<'      existed.     Had  the  style  of  Piers  the  PlowmaUy 
jl^rit^-    ,  even  before  the  last  revision,  been  more  magical, 
'Ji^      had  the  poems  been  less  medieval,  their  monotonous 
cxr^j    genius  might  have  competed  too  successfully  with 
JcA^^^Athe  infinite  variety  and  artistic  power  of  Chaucer. 
^j^^^  It  is  a  case  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  for  the 
^>^  i  fatherhood  of  English  literature, 
y  J>^'        Meantime  the  stream  of  satire  flowed  on  in 
y4^.      ballads,   Latin   and   English,   for  we   may  surely 
tP^.         regard  the  excessive   obscurity  of  the  prophecy 
.^^^  which  was  attributed  to  John  of  Bridlington  as  an 
^^    excuse  for  passing  by  that  unlyrical  work.     The 
*i  /v*^    ballads  are  concerned  either  with  strict  politics,  or 
with  the  quasi-political  subjects  of  the  Clergy  and 
^"^    ^  the  Lollards.    The  mixed  feelings  of  moderate  men 
during  the  Villeins'  Revolt  in  1381  are  well  seen  in 
a  clerkly  ballad  of  that  date. 


I]       LOLLARDRY  AND  THE  CHURCH      27 

Tax  has  tenet  us  alle, 

probat  hoc  mors  tot  validorum, 
The  kyng  thereof  hade  smalle, 

fuit  m  manibus  cupidorum; 
Hit  hade  harde  honsalle, 

dans  causam  fine  dolorum; 
Revrawnce  nede  most  falle, 

propter  peccata  malorum. 


Thus  hor  wayes  thay  wente, 

pravis  pravos  aemulantes, 
To  London  fro  Kent 

sunt  predia  depopulantes ; 
Ther  was  an  uvel  covent, 

australi  parte  vagantes; 
Sythenne  they  sone  were  schent, 

qui  tunc  fuerant  superantes. 

But  Richard's  later  years  clearly  set  his  people 
against  him.  Even  courtly  Chaucer  ventured  a 
remonstrance  on  the  "lack  of  steadfastness"  in 
the  government.  The  rough,  popular  ballad  against 
his  favourites  in  1399  has  none  of  the  retenue  of 
the  foregoing:  its  vigour  recalls  the  exultation 
over  the  King  of  Almaigne  in  1256.  The  three 
favourites  are  of  course  the  Bushey,  Greene  and 
Bagot  of  Shakespeare. 

Ther  is  a  busch  that  is  forgrowe; 
Crop  hit  welle,  and  holde  hit  lowe, 

or  elles  hit  wolle  be  wilde. 
The  long  gras  that  is  so  grene, 
Hit  must  be  mowe  and  raked  clene; 

forgrowen  hit  hath  the  fellde. 

The  grete  bagge,  that  is  so  mykille, 
Hit  schal  be  kettord  and  maked  litelle: 

the  bothom  is  ny  ought. 
Hit  is  so  roton  on  ych  a  side, 
There  nul  no  stycli  with  odur  abyde, 

to  set  theron  a  clout. 

Such  compositions  are  scarcely  literature;  yet 
they  make  us  see  the  strange  parti-coloured  mob 


28  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  [CH. 

which   turned   to   lynch-law  in  the  first  English 
revolution. 

"  Moral  Gower's  "  painstaking  Latin  attacks  on 
Richard's  reign  only  require  notice  as  the  last  use 
of  Latin  in  satire  to  impress  the  general  public  : 
they  were  partly  for  European  consumption  and 
Intended  to  win  foreign  opinion  for  the  usurper 
Henry  IV.  Better  written  than  their  forerunners 
under  Edward  III,  they  resemble  them  in  metre 
and  manner.  One  is  glad  to  turn  from  them  to  an 
anonymous  English  distich  on  the  year  1391  which 
is  worthy  of  Chaucer. 

The  ax  was  sharpe,  the  stokke  was  harde 
In  the  xiiij  yere  of  kyiig  Richarde. 

During  all  these  years,  however,  there  was  also 
raging  another  controversy,  which  produced  some 
spirited  compositions.  This  was  the  strife  between 
the  Lollards  and  the  Church.  The  heresies  which 
the  Lollards  represented  had,  perhaps,  never  been 
absent  from  the  West ;  but  the  stress  they  laid, 
like  Piers  the  Ploivman,  on  the  ethical  side  of 
Christianity,  and  their  anti-hierarchal  doctrines 
were  strengthened  by  the  enmity  which  was  pro- 
duced by  the  defects  of  the  Church-machine.  The 
Friars  and  the  ecclesiastical  courts  and  revenues 
furnished  the  chief  points  of  attack.  Naturally, 
the  best  fun  that  was  directed  against  these  comes 
in  Chaucer's  Canterbury  Tales,  but  the  satire  of 
that  master  cannot  be  construed  as  political  or 
even  partisan.     Lesser  men,  however,  wrote  dis- 


I]  DECADENCE  OF   METRE  29 

tinctly  for  or  against  change.      The  most  racy 

assault  on  the  Friars  may  be  quoted. 

Men  may  se  by  thair  contyiiaunce,  *^ 

That  thai  are  men  of  grete  penaunce, 
And  also  that  thair  sustynaunce 

Simple  is  and  wayke. 
I  have  lyved  now  fourty  yers, 
And  fatter  men  about  the  neres 
Yit  sawe  I  never  then  are  these  frers, 

In  contreys  ther  thai  rayke. 
Meteles  so  megre  are  thai  made, 

And  penaunce  so  puttes  ham  doun, 
That  ichone  is  an  hors-lade, 

When  he  shall  trusse  of  toun. 

There  is  a  fine  humour  here,  and  the  attacked 
churchmen  were  not  slow  to  reply  with  both  skill 
and  effect.  Whichever  won  in  the  lists  of  satire, 
they  gained  the  temporal  victory.  Henry  TV 
came  as  the  champion  of  the  legal  way  of  doing 
things,  and  the  revolutionary  Lollards  had  not 
enough  responsible  support  to  hold  out  against 
Church  and  State  united.  With  their  disappear- 
ance and  with  the  triumph  of  constitutional 
monarchy,  political  satire  dies  down  again.  We 
have  arrived  at  the  decadence  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

In  poetry,  it  has  been  often  shown,  this  de- 
cadence was  made  more  complete  by  the  confusion 
into  which  the  structure  of  English  verse  fell. 
Scansion  by  syllabic  feet,  instead  of  the  accentual 
beats  of  Piers  the  Plowman,  was  still  novel  in  the 
language,  when  Chaucer  raised  it  to  a  high  pitch 
of  perfection,  and  scarcely  had  he  efiected  his 
work,  when  the  change  in  the  language,  already  in 


30  THE   MIDDLE  AGES  [CH.  i 

progress,  was  rapidly  accelerated.  The  inflexional 
endings  of  the  nouns  were  in  course  of  being 
dropped :  dissyllables  became  monosyllabic  and 
so  forth.  Had  a  genius  appeared,  it  would  have 
been  hard  for  him  to  have  adapted  the  new  verse 
to  so  undecided  a  change.  As  it  was,  minor  poets 
like  Occleve  fell  into  a  metrical  chaos.  Chaucer's 
actual  licences,  guided  as  they  were  by  his  delicate 
ear,  were  increased  by  the  horrible  jangle  pro- 
duced in  him  by  the  new  pronunciation,  and  all 
together  were  sedulously  imitated.  Meantime  the 
rhythm,  which  guided  the  elder  accentuated  verse 
was  largely  lost  for  the  same  reason.  The  stressed 
syllables  were  left  jarring  together,  after  the  sub- 
mergence of  the  inflexions.  A  worse  than  barbaric 
night  settles  down  on  English  poetry.  Ballads 
produced  by  the  untrained  and  unspoilt  minstrel 
represent  its  best  at  this  time ;  but  the  political 
ones  on  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  on  Suffolk,  and  on 
the  Wars  of  the  Roses  are  too  poor  to  quote. 
True,  there  is  a  flne  political  treatise  in  verse.  The 
Libel  of  English  Policy,  but  it  is  not,  properly 
speaking,  a  satire  or  a  poem.  Inspiration  was  not 
dead :  the  Mort  d- Arthur  was  produced  towards 
the  close  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses ;  but  that  great 
poetical  work  was  written  in  prose.  There  was 
left  barely  metre  enough  in  which  a  poem  could 
be  made. 


CHAPTER  II 

SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS:  THE  DEVELOPMENT 
OF  MODERN  VERSE 

Whatever  claims  the  Tudors  made  to  the  Crown 
by  reason  of  heredity  or  conquest  or  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, their  real  security  lay  in  their  vocation  as 
Saviours  of  Society.  The  various  evils  under 
which  England  laboured  had  culminated  under 
the  unhappy  Sixth  Henry.  The  central  authority 
had  become  powerless  in  the  hands  of  the  half- 
insane  king ;  and,  even  if  Henry  had  been  capable, 
the  odds  were  against  the  Crown.  The  prerogative 
had  been  prematurely  cut  short,  at  the  same  time 
as  the  forces  of  local  disorder  had  been  growing 
in  strength  in  consequence  of  the  practices  of 
Livery  and  Maintenance.  These  latter  were 
largely  a  result  of  the  adoption  of  the  trade  of 
Condottieri  by  the  great  nobles  under  Edward  HI. 
Even  in  peace  they  did  not  fail  to  keep  up  the 
bands  of  retainers,  who  served  under  them  in  war, 
and  their  less  powerful  neighbours  were  glad  to 
rank  themselves  and  their  servitors  in  an  analogous 


32        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [ch. 

position  ^  Thus  a  kind  of  degenerate  feudal 
system  came  into  being  without  a  code  of  feudal 
morals.  Over  all  the  land  feudal  disorder  and 
oppression  broke  out.  Justice  and  security  were 
not  to  be  had.  The  only  course,  for  a  country- 
dweller  at  least,  was  to  range  himself  under  the 
banner  of  some  prepotent  lord  of  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  great  nobles,  at  the  head  of  their 
dependents  and  retainers,  made  tools  of  the  law 
and  the  central  power,  the  local  organs  of  which, 
sheriff  and  justice  of  the  peace,  they  controlled. 
Meanwhile  the  evils  complained  of  in  Piers  the 
Plowman  continued.  The  law  had  become  slavish 
to  the  prepotent  lords  as  well  as  corrupt.  The 
Church  was  losing  reverence  more  and  more  ;  its 
courts  were  as  of  old  vexatious  ;  its  prelates  were 
royal  favourites ;  the  monastic  orders  were  ceasing 
to  fulfil  any  useful  purpose ;  and  scandal  was  no 
more  silent  than  before  on  their  misdeeds  and 
those  of  the  secular  clergy. 

Such  a  state  of  things  might  seem  favourable 
for  the  growth  of  political  satire  when  a  revival 
took  place.  Several  circumstances,  however,  were 
against  any  development  of  the  kind.  The  Tudors 
/succeeded  in  suppressing  disorder  partly  through 
(  the  exhaustion  of  the  faction-chiefs.  Thus  active 
parties  and  their  disputes,  the  natural  environ- 
ment of  political  satire,  were  wanting.  Then  the 
Tudors  were  popular  despots  and  suspicious  withal. 

1  This  was  done  by  formal  indentures  of  service. 


II]  THE  TUDORS  33 

They  rested  on  the  willing  obedience  of  the  in- 
fluential classes.  Thus  there  were  no  two  opinions 
on  most  matters  of  politics  ;  and  the  Tudors  were 
careful  to  suppress  any  too  near  approach  by  a 
subject  to  the  discussion  of  state-aifairs.  Henry  VII 
promptly  executed  five  of  his  libellers  in  terrorem, 
and  his  successors,  what  with  Statute  Law  and 
the  terrible  Star-Chamber,  kept  a  tight  hand  over 
malcontents.  Perhaps,  too,  we  may  add  for  the 
later  part  of  the  period  the  influence  of  the 
Renaissance.  Juvenal  and  Horace  had  been  social 
satirists  and  the  ambition  of  men  tinged  with 
humanism  was  to  follow  in  their  footsteps. 

In  this  way  the  satirists  of  the  time,  although 
there  are  one  or  two  exceptions,  for  the  most  part 
illustrate  political  history  by  their  silence  only ; 
and  the  whole  period  owes  its  importance  for  the 
rise  of  later  satire  to  the  fact  that  the  forms  of 
English  metrification  were  shaped  then,  including 
those  which  satire  was  to  use. 

The  most  striking  of  the  exceptions  that  we 
find,  is  the  laureate  of  the  Universities,  J^ohn 
Skelton,  a  man  remarkable  in  so  many  ways  that 
it  is  worth  the  while  to  give  him  and  his  perform- 
ances more  attention  than  perhaps  their  intrinsic 
merits  deserve. 

To  begin  with,  Skelton  is  himself  the  first 
distinct  figure  among  English  satirists,  and  one  of 
the  first  among  English  men  of  letters.  The  author 
of  the  Piers  Plowman  series,  whether  he  be  one  or 

o.  3 


34        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [CH. 

five,  is  a  shrouded  personality.  His  history  is  con- 
jectural, the  nature  of  the  man  only  to  be  guessed  at 
from  random  and  perhaps  fictitious  hints.  But  jolly, 
ranting  Skelton  is  as  real  a  man  as  ever  was.  We 
know  his  life  and  adventures  and  can  make  a  sketch 
of  his  opinions.  We  know  that  he  was  born  about 
1460,  that  he  was  tutor  to  the  future  Henry  VHI, 
that  he  was  parson  of  Diss  and  father  of  a  family, 
that  he  fell  out  with  Wolsey,  that  in  1529  he  died 
in  sanctuary  at  Westminster.  Furthermore  his 
tastes  are  obvious  in  his  works,  his  lack  of  the 
sense  of  beauty  or  form,  his  learning  without  judg- 
ment, a  certain  convivial  coarseness  and  boisterous 
vigour. 

Secondly,  he  was  a  courtier  and  satirizes  the 
court.  This  is  really  one  of  the  new  departures 
under  the  Tudors.  They  were  despots  ruling 
through  their  council,  and  they  could  not  entrust 
the  control  of  the  central  administration  to  men, 
who  were  either  too  powerful  or  too  little  known 
to  them.  Hence,  like  every  other  race  of  autocrats, 
they  raised  up  a  new  official  class  dependent  on 
themselves  and  selected  in  the  first  instance  from 
their  entourage.  The  court  thus  became  the 
centre  of  politics  and  a  scene  of  emulous  intrigue 
which  offered  a  butt  to  all  the  satirists  of  the 
century.  Members  of  the  ancient  baronage  and 
upstarts  of  yesterday  jostled  one  another  there, 
all  impotent  without  the  royal  favour,  and  all 
filled  with  a  covert  mutual  hatred.     It  was  these, 


IT]  SKELTOIN^  35 

his  fellow  courtiers,  and  their  doings  that  Skelton 
attacked  in  his  first  satiric  poem,  The  Bowge  (or 
Rations)  of  Court.  He  wrote  this  work  in  the 
jarring  pseudo-Chaucerian  style,  for  he  had  neither 
the  ear  nor  the  judgment  to  perceive  what  was 
wrong.  It  may  be  considered  as  an  exposition  of  a 
political  evil  of  the  time,  similar  to  Barclay,  the 
Canon  of  Ely's,  contemporary  eclogues,  with  which 
it  compares  favourably  in  its  power  of  character- 
ization and  fire  of  verse.  The  badness  of  the 
metre  is  common  to  both. 

Skelton's  natural  bent  and  genius,  however,  do 
not  appear  in  this  decorous  production,  which  could 
appeal  only  to  the  small  class  familiar  with  the 
seamy  side  of  the  new  court-life.  He  finds  his  real 
opportunity  in  giving  voice  to  the  national  grumb- 
ling, of  so  old  a  date,  on  the  subject  of  the  Church. 
There  was  something  of  the  demagogue,  one  can- 
not help  thinking,  in  the  loud-tongued  parson  who 
so  fiercely  assailed  his  own  order.  In  Colin  Clout, 
his  chief  satire  against  the  clergy,  he  uses  that 
broken,  doggerel  metre,  which  is  named  after  him, 
and  which  seems  with  its  boisterous,  clamorous 
movement  to  be  more  fitted  for  Jack  Pudding  at 
a  fair  than  for  the  courtier-laureate.  Yet  its  short, 
but  variable,  rhyming  couplets,  anarchic  though 
they  be,  have  a  real  rhythm  in  them,  that  marks 
a  distinct  advance  on  the  pedantic  discordance  of 
contemporary  serious  poetry.  Here  at  any  rate 
were  lines  that  chanted  themselves,  though  their 

3—2 


36        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [CH. 

melody  was  harsh  and  rude.    The  matter,  too,  has 

its  interest,  which  is  increased  by  its  very  vulgarity. 

We  have  a  chance,  one  imagines,  of  knowing  what 

the  vulgar  thought  in  1520. 

Skelton's  list  of  enormities  is  long.    He  accuses 

the  seculars  of  incontinence  and  ignorance.    He 

complains  of  the  oppressive  wealth  of  the  upper 

clergy : 

What  care  they  though  Gil  sweate, 
Or  Jacke  of  the  Noke? 
The  pore  people  they  yoke 
With  sommons  and  citacyons 
And  excommunycacyons, 
About  churches  and  market: 
The  bysshop  on  his  carpet 
At  home  full  softe  dothe  syt. 

Then  the  encroachments  of  the  Friars  on  the 
parsons'  duties,  the  poverty  and  vagabondage  of 
the  monks,  and  of  the  nuns  of  dissolved  houses 
are  made  the  butt  of  his  vituperative  style.  He 
insists  on  the  unpopularity  of  the  Church  and  the 
worldliness  of  the  prelates.  These  attacks  are  all 
the  more  interesting  because  they  partly  anticipate 
those  which  were  to  be  made  later,  when  the 
divorce  question  and  the  revolt  from  the  Papacy, 
both  as  yet  undreamed  of,  came  up^.    They  may 

1  Cf.  the  attack  on  tippling,  ignorant  parsons,  lines  222 — 286, 
with  Cromwell's  Injunctions  1536,  §§  6  and  7;  that  on  simony 
291—302  with  the  Petition  of  the  Commons  1532,  Sect,  vii ;  lines 
323-8  (quoted  above)  with  id.  in,  iv ;  the  description  of  the 
monks  who  "synge  from  place  to  place,  like  apostataas"  with 
the  Preamble  of  the  Act  for  the  Dissolution  of  the  Lesser  Monas- 
teries 1536,  '*a  great  multitude  of  the  religious  persons  in  such 
small  houses  do... choose  to  rove  abroad  in  apostasy."    It  is 


II]  SKELTON  37 

be  false  or  slanderous;  but  if  the  government 
found  it  hard  to  force  their  utterance  on  respect- 
able Parliament-men,  they  were  at  least  ready  to 
its  hand  in  the  talk  of  the  people. 

Skelton  did  not  stop  at  abusing  the  prelates  in 
general.  Some  of  the  shafts  in  Colin  Clout  are 
distinctly  aimed  at  their  head,  Cardinal  Wolsey. 
What  ground  of  quarrel  the  poet  had  with  a  man 
he  had  formerly  flattered  is  not  known.  In  any  case 
he  appeals  to  popular  prejudices.  The  bishops 
are  too  secular ;  their  very  tapestries,  horribUe 
dictu,  are  adorned  with  heathen  subjects,  such  as 
the  triumph  of  Caesar. 

Nowe  truly,  to  my  thynkynge, 
That  is  a  speculacyon 
And  a  mete  meditacyon 
For  prelates  of  estate, 
Their  courage  to  abate 
From  worldly  wantonnesse, 
Theyr  chambres  thus  to  dresse 
With  suche  parfetnesse 
And  all  suche  holynesse; 
Howbeit  they  let  downe  fall 
Their  churches  cathedrall. 

We  are  reminded  of  Mantegna's  series,  the 
Triumph  of  Caesar,  at  Hampton  Court. 

A  less  oblique  attack  on  the  Cardinal  in  the 
same  poem  brings  us  to  another  notable  point  on 
which  Skelton  expresses  the  feelings  of  his  con- 
temporaries. 

curious  that  Skelton  seems  to  attribute  the  last  scandal  to  the 
action  of  the  Bishops  in  dissolving  various  monasteries,  and  to 
glance  at  Wolsey's  policy  of  dissolution  from  1524  on.  With  the 
reference  (1.  989)  to  a  "Queues  yellynge,"  it  suggests  the  poem 
was  at  least  revised  after  1527. 


38        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [oh. 

It  is  a  besy  thyng 

For  one  man  to  rule  a  kyng 

Alone  and  make  rekenyng, 

To  govern  over  all 

And  rule  a  realme  royall 

By  one  mannes  verray  wyt 

[_The  national  grievances  against  Wolsey  were 
four.  He  was  a  courtier,  a  churchman,  low-born, 
and  chief  minister.  The  first  two  defects  have 
been  enough  dwelt  on.  That  he  was  low-born 
was  a  crime  in  itself  to  Englishmen,  although  he 
probably  added  to  the  ofience  by  using  too  fully  the 
magnificence  of  his  office,  much  as  if  a  man  should 
wear  at  the  same  time  collar  and  ribbon  of  the 
Garter,  to  both  of  which  a  knight  of  the  order  is 
entitled.  But  the  prejudice  in  favour  of  high 
birth  and  local  influence  was  too  strong  to  be 
eradicated  even  by  the  sufferings  of  the  past 
century.  Men  wished  that  the  nobles  should  be 
tamed,  but  they  would  not  realize  that  it  was 
needful  at  first  to  find  other  instruments  to 
govern  with,  if  the  baronial  prepotency  was  not 
to  revive.  Indeed  the  liking  for  an  aristocratic 
government  has  been  a  permanent  phenomenon 
since  in  English  politics.^,. 

Still  more  hated  was  Wolsey's  position  as  chief 
minister,  another  secular  bugbear  of  Englishmen. 
Not  only  did  he  bear  the  burden  of  Henry  VIIFs 
sins,  but  it  was  not  till  the  days  of  the  younger 
Pitt  that  the  nation  would  willingly  accept  a  single 
confidant  of  the  Crown.  When  Skelton,  after  im- 
prisonment, returned  to  the  attack  in  Why  come 


II]  SKELTON  39 

ye  not  to  Court  ?  he  made  this  the  great  point  of 

his  indictment — in  a  rude  fury  which  shows  him  at 

his  best. 

He  is  set  so  hye 

In  his  ierarchy 

Of  frantycke  frenesy 

And  folysshe  fantasy, 

That  in  the  Chambre  of  StaiTes 

All  maters  there  he  marres; 

Clappyng  his  rod  on  the  borde, 

No  man  dare  speke  a  worde, 

For  he  hathe  all  the  sayenge, 

Without  any  renayenge; 

He  rolleth  in  his  recordes, 

He  sayth,  How  saye  ye,  my  lordes? 

Is  nat  my  reason  good? 

Good  evyn,  good  Robyn  Hood! 

Some  say  yes,  and  some 

Syt  styll  as  they  were  dom: 

Thus  thwartyng  over  thorn, 

He  ruleth  all  the  roste 

With  braggj^nge  and  with  host. 

Then  the  scandal  of  an  upstart  hectoring  the 
once  great  lords  of  the  realm,  now  impoverished 
and  helpless  against  the  Crown,  stirs  him  to  fresh 
objurgations. 

Our  barons  be  so  bolde, 
Into  a  mouse  hole  they  wolde 
Eynne  away  and  crepe; 
Lyke  a  mayny  of  shepe. 
Dare  not  loke  out  at  dur 
'  For  drede  of  the  mastyve  cur, 
For  drede  of  the  bochers  dogge 
Wold  wyrry  them  lyke  an  hogge. 
For  and  this  curre  do  gnar, 
They  must  stande  all  afar, 
To  hold  up  their  hande  at  the  bar, 
For  all  their  noble  blode. 
He  pluckes  them  by  the  hode. 
And  shakes  them  by  the  eare, 
And  brynges  them  in  suche  feare ; 
He  bayteth  them  lyke  a  here, 


40        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [CH. 

Lyke  an  oxe  or  a  bull: 

Theyr  wyttes,  he  saith,  are  dull ; 

He  sayth  they  have  no  brayne 

Theyr  astate  to  mayntayne; 

And  maketh  them  to  bow  theyr  kne 

Before  his  majeste. 

These  turbulent  lines  surely  give  us  some  idea  of 
the  man  and  the  time.  We  seem  to  see  Skelton 
leaning  over  the  sanctuary  wall  and  hooting  his 
oppressor  as  he  rides  attended  by  the  abject 
baronage.  And  the  vividness  of  the  picture  makes 
some  amends  for  the  squalor,  which  is  always 
present  in  Skelton's  writings,  as  in  his  life ;  a 
reminder  maybe  that  the  sixteenth-century  court 
had  stains  and  dust  enough  hidden  under  its  arras- 
hangings  :  Spenser's  half-ruinous  palace  of  Lucifera 
was  no  bad  image  of  contemporary  splendour. 

All  the  hinder  parts,  that  few  could  spie, 
Were  ruinous  and  old,  but  painted  cunningly. 

From  this  plebeian  rudesby  it  is  necessary  to 
turn  for  a  brief  space  to  two  other  worthies  of 
Henry  VHI's  court,  men  of  gentle  blood  these,  who 
had  undergone  the  influence  of  the  Italian  Renais- 
sance. They  did  not  indeed  write  political  satire, 
they  hardly  wrote  social  satire  :  but  it  was  their 
good  fortune  to  rescue  English  verse  from  its 
fifteenth  century  slough.  In  this  way  they  fixed 
the  conditions  under  which  later  English  poetry 
existed,  including  of  course  its  satiric  off-shoots. 
It  was  no  great  individual  merit  perhaps.  A  man 
of  birth  and  breeding,  travelled  and  with  a  literary 


II]  REFORM  OF  VERSIFICATION         41 

bent,  like  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  could  not  have  found 
it  so  difficult  to  appreciate  the  harmony  and  beauty 
of  Italian  verse,  or  to  understand  the  metrical  rules 
on  which  it  was  based.  A  certain  modicum  of 
inspiration  and  an  ear  for  verse  were  likewise 
needful  for  successful  imitation,  and  Surrey,  though 
but  a  minor  poet  after  all,  was  sufficiently  inspired. 
His  great  reform  lay  in  scanning  by  the  syllables  in 
a  line  of  verse,  not  by  the  rhythmical  beats.  Chaucer, 
in  fact,  had  done  much  the  same,  but  allowed  more 
licences  in  construction.  By  this  reform  melody 
was  once  more  made  possible,  as  well  as  the  effisctive 
interplay  of  the  structure  of  the  sentence  and  that 
of  the  verse,  which  had  been  barely  attainable  in 
the  ancient  accentual  metres  at  their  best.  Thus 
through  the  infinite  variety  of  poetical  means  now 
reobtained,  it  was  feasible  to  develope  poetical  style. 
Had  Chaucer's  metres  been  understood,  this  move- 
ment would  no  doubt  have  been  chiefly  a  harking 
back  to  the  elder  poet.  As  it  was,  though  the  new 
men  felt  his  inspiration,  his  misread  verse  was  a 
pitfall  to  them.  He  was  made  the  authority  for 
the  cacophony  of  Barclay  and  his  like. 

The  movement,  as  was  natural  and  desirable, 
concerned  more  than  metre  alone ;  and  here  Wyatt, 
Surrey's  elder  contemporary,  led  the  way.  He 
imitated  the  Italians,  and  through  them  the  classics, 
in  matter  and  manner.  Surrey  followed  his  friend 
with  more  success.  So  now  a  trickling  stream  of 
Petrarchan  sonnets  begins  to  flow  in  England,  soon 


42        SATIRE  U:N^DER  THE  DESPOTS     [ch. 

to  become  an  immense,  but  shallow,  flood.  They 
do  not,  however,  invade  the  present  subject.  As 
to  that,  the  importance  of  the  movement  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  models  of  style  and  canons  of  taste 
were  now  chiefly  to  be  found  in  Italian  and 
ultimately  in  Latin  authors.  A  certain  studious- 
ness  and  finesse,  as  well  as  a  taste  for  rhetoric,  takes 
the  place  of  the  simple  air  of  Chaucer  ;  and  a  new, 
more  charming  pedantry  supplants  his :  the 
"  sentence  "  and  its  application  of  the  Middle  Ages 
give  way  to  the  allusion.  Ideals  of  ornament  in 
phrase  change  for  the  better  ;  and  in  more  inward 
qualities  one  may  observe  that  notions  of  the 
dignified  and  the  poignant  have  been  revised  in 
view  of  the  more  civilized  Italian  works.  Chaucer 
had,  metaphorically  speaking,  been  inclined  to  fall 
into  a  kind  of  goose-step  when  he  wished  to  be 
stately,  and  to  have  recourse  to  "weylaweys"  in 
order  to  be  affecting.  The  Italians  moved  with 
a  severe  composure,  not  with  such  stilted  expe- 
dients. Yet  English  literature  never  surrendered 
its  individuality  in  these  days.  It  retained  the 
luxuriance  which  sprang  from  the  national  temper, 
and  a  northern  burliness  and  heartiness,  very 
different  from  the  Italian  morbidezza. 

In  the  meantime,  it  may  be  noticed,  something 
of  the  same  process  was  gone  through  in  Scotland. 
There,  however,  the  language  was  more  conser- 
vative :  not  all  the  inflexional  syllables  were 
clipped.    In  consequence,  the  tradition  of  Chaucer 


II]  THE  SCOTTISH  SCHOOL  43 

was  continued  with  little  admixture  of  foreign 
elements,  the  later  forms  of  words  being  accommo- 
dated readily  enough  to  the  Chaucerian  metres. 
Among  the  Scottish  writers  was  a  really  able 
satirist  on  the  Protestant  side  in  the  Reformation 
struggle,  Sir  David  Lyndsay  of  the  Mount  (1490 — 
1555).  A  quotation  from  his  Complaint  of  the 
Papyngo  will  show  the  old-fashioned  excellence 
of  his  verse.  And  though  he  is  in  earnest  he  has 
caught  the  bantering  tone  of  his  model.  The  dying 
Papyngo  is  plagued  by  three  clerical  birds,  the  Pye, 
the  Raven  or  Blackmonk,  and  the  Gled  or  Friar : 
the  Pye  comes  first : 

I  am,  said  he,  one  Chanoun  regulare, 

And  of  my  brether  Pryour  principall; 

My  quhyte  rocket,  my  clene  life  doith  declare; 
The  blak  bene  of  the  deith  memoriall ; 
Qiiharefor,  I  thynk  your  gudis  naturall 

Suld  be  submyttit  hole  into  my  cure; 

Ye  know  I  am  ane  holye  creature. 

The  hendecasyllabic  line  of  Chaucer  is  now  deca- 
syllabic ;  the  final  "  e  "s  are  silent :  but  the  manner 
and  rhythm  follow  the  master  pretty  closely, 
although  the  shorter  words  cause  some  approxima- 
tion to  those  of  the  new  English  metres.  The 
Italian  styl^  does  not  exist  for  Lyndsay. 

The  strife  between  the  old  faith  and  the  new 
raged  as  long  and  as  bitterly  in  England  as  in 
Scotland,  but  it  did  not  so  easily  or  so  soon  find 
poetical  expression.  The  causes  of  this  phenomenon 
were  various.  Partly,  the  nation  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  chiefly  concerned  with  practical  abuses  and 


44        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [CH. 

vexations,  the  ancestors  of  the  famous  tithe-pig 
which  cut  so  prominent  a  figure  in  the  days  of  the 
philosophic  Radicals.    Partly,  it  was  inclined  to 
follow,  somewhat  sheepishly,  the  lead  of  its  auto- 
crats.    But  the  main  reason  doubtless  lay  in  the 
autocrats  themselves.    No  rulers  better  understood 
the  value  of  public  opinion  than  the  Tudors,  or  the 
need  of  securely  controlling  that  demonic  force. 
Hence,  whatever  opinion  the  prince  adopted,  the 
propaganda  of  its  contrary  was  at  once  proscribed, 
while  all  the  official  machinery  was  employed  in  its 
favour.     Such  an  atmosphere  was  not  favourable 
for  productions  of  laboured  art.     Who  knew  what 
conviction  the  morrow  might  bring  forth  ?    And  in 
point  of  fact  more  homely  means,  sermons,  speeches, 
disputations,  and  the  like  were  more  useful  and 
went  more  speedily  the  round  of  the  country. 
.       Among  these  implements  of  despotism  were  the 
[ballads.    They  had  the  defect,  however,  of  being 
hard  to  control.     Hence  in   them  we  have  the 
statements  of  the  vanquished  as  well  as  those  of  the 
victors.    Edward  YI,  one  sees,  unloosed  theological 
dispute.    So  the  subject-matter  of  the  ballads  is 
changed  from  that  of  the  old  ecclesiastical  satires. 
It  is  doctrines  which  engage  their  attention ;  we 
hear  of  authority  versus  individual  j  udgment.    This 
may  be  seen  from  a  Protestant  one,  the  Ballad  of 
Luther,  the  Pope,  a  Cardinal  and  a  Husband- 
man, written  under  Edward  VL    The  Pope   is 
made  to  say : 


II]  REFORMATIOISr  BALLADS  45 

Thou  stryvest  against  my  purgatory, 

Because  thou  findest  it  not  in  scripture; 
As  though  I  by  myne  auctoritie 

Myght  not  make  one  for  myne  honoure. 

Knowest  thou  not,  that  I  have  power 
To  make  and  mar,  in  heaven  and  hell, 

In  earth  and  every  creature? 
Whatsoever  I  do  it  must  be  well. 

There  is  a  neat  turn  of  exaggeration  here.  Good, 
however,  as  its  humorous  irony  is,  it  is  surpassed 
as  an  imaginative  work  of  art  by  the  Catholic 
ballad  of  Little  John  Nobody ^  as  may  be  seen  : 

Little  John  Nobody,  quoth  I,  what  news?     Thou  soon  note 

and  tell 
What  manor  men  thou  meane,  thou  are  so  mad. 
He  said,  these  gay  gallants,  that  will  construe  the  gospel, 
As  Solomon  the  sage,  with  semblance  full  sad; 
To  discusse  divinity  they  nought  adread; 
More  meet  it  were  for  them  to  milk  kye  at  a  fleyke. 
Thou  liest,  quoth  I,  thou  losel,  like  a  lend  lad. 
He  said ;  he  was  little  John  Nobody  that  durst  not  speake. 

If  thou  company  with  them  they  will  currishly  carp,  and  not 

care 
According  to  their  foolish  fantacy,  but  fast  will  they  naught; 
Prayer  with  them  is  but  prating ;  therefore  they  it  forbear : 
Both  alms-deeds  and  holiness,  they  hate  it  in  their  thought : 
Therefore  pray  we  to  that  prince,  that  with  his  blood  us 

bought, 
That  he  will  mend  that  is  amiss :  for  many  a  manful  freyke 
Is  sorry  for  these  sects,  though  they  say  little  or  naught; 
And  that  I,  little  John  Nobody,  dare  not  once  speake. 

How  happily  the  conservative  metre,  not  far  from 
Piers  the  Plowman's  rhymed,  agrees  with  the  con- 
servative utterance  of  the  poem  !  And  the  refrain, 
— to  be  silent  was  the  only  alternative  to  supporting 
the  Tudors.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  no 
wonder  that  political  poems  were  not  written. 


46        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [CH. 

On  one  occasion,  however,  the  autocrat  herself 
helped  to  fill  the  blank.  Henry  VHI,  though 
literary,  had  preferred  theology  to  verse ;  but  his 
daughter  once  and  again  wooed  Melpomene,  who, 
to  tell  the  truth  in  Elizabethan  phrase,  rather  fled 
at  the  Amazon's  approach.  It  seems  to  have  been 
just  after  Norfolk's  plot  in  favour  of  Mary,  Queen 
of  Scots,  in  1571-2,  that  Elizabeth  wrote  her 
political  verses.  They  must  be  cited  in  full  if  only 
for  their  authoress : 

The  dread  of  future  foes  exiles  ray  present  joy, 

And  wit  me  warns  to  shun  such  snares  as  threaten  mine 

annoy. 
For  falsehood  now  doth  flow  and  subjects'  faith  doth  ebb; 
Which  would  not  be  if  Reason  ruled,  or  Wisdom  weaved 

the  web. 
But  clouds  of  toys  untried  do  cloak  aspiring  minds, 
Which  turn  to  rain  of  late  repent  by  course  of  changed 

winds. 
The  top  of  hope  supposed  the  root  of  mth  will  be, 
And  fruitless  all  their  graffed  guiles,  as  shortly  ye  shall  see. 
Those  dazzled  eyes  with  pride,  which  great  ambition  blinds, 
Shall  be  unseal'd  by  worthy  wights  whose  foresight  false- 
hood finds. 
The  Daughter  of  Debate,  that  eke  discord  doth  sow, 
Shall  reap  no   gain   where  former  rule   hath   taught   still 

peace  to  grow. 
No  foreign  banish'd  wight  shall  anchor  in  this  port; 
Our  realm  it  brooks  no  stranger's  force,  let  them  elsewhere 

resort. 
Our  rusty  sword  with  rest  shall  first  its  edge  employ, 
To  poll  their  tops  that  seek  such  change  and  gape  for  joy. 

These  are  fine,  imperious  lines  for  all  their  distorted 
syntax  and  clumsy  metre.  It  is  a  born  ruler  who 
speaks,  and  one  who  knew  the  foundations  of  her 
power — "  where  former  rule  hath  taught  still  peace 
to  grow." 


II]  QUEEN  ELIZABETH  47 

The  rule  of  the  great  autocratic  house  was  now 

to  bear  its  fruits  in  the  creation  of  modern  England 

and  of  modern  English  literature.     The  entrance  of 

the  spirit  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  which  in  this 

country    had    its    chief  predominance   after   the 

separation  from  Rome  and  contemporaneously  with 

the  further  progress  of  the  Reformation,  supplied 

new  forms  of  beauty,  new  thoughts,  new  hopes,  new 

desires  to  be  embodied  in  literature.     The  Xew 

World  now  lay  open  to  mankind,  and  the  northern 

island,  undistracted  by  religious  wars  under  the 

strong  rule  of  Elizabeth,  undebauched  by  antino- 

mianism  like  Italy,  unspoilt  by  too  secure  possession 

like  Spain  and  Portugal,  found  at  once  an  outlet  for 

and  an  extraordinary  stimulus  to  its  energies.     Of 

this  expansion  in  enterprise,  in  thought  and  in 

character,  the  Queen  was  the  presiding  genius. 

With  all  her  faults,  not  only  did  she  seek  peace  and 

ensue  it,  not  only  did  she  protect  the  normal 

development  of  her  people,  but  she  had  a  wonderful 

power  of  calling  out  latent  force  and  of  inspiring  a 

national  ideal.   In  a  land  under  a  popular  autocracy, 

where  the  court  was  all  in  all,  there  is  no  need  to 

dwell  on  the  epoch-making  importance  of  the  lead 

she  gave.    There  was  a  kind  of  fervour  of  movement 

in  progress :  men  left  the  old  restricted  paths  of 

hamlet  and  town, 

Some  to  discover  islands  far  away, 
Some  to  the  studious  universities, 

and  on  this  stir  of  existence  the  "  mortal  moon  " 
cast  a  fickle,  yet  a  magic,  light. 


48        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [CH. 

Of  the  new  court  literature  the  greatest,  if  not 
the  earliest,  name  in  poetry  is  that  of  Spenser 
( 1552 — 1 599).  The  feeble  tentatives  of  such  men  as 
Wyatt  and  Surrey  were  now  succeeded  by  the 
inspired  work  of  a  poetic  genius,  by  whom  for  the 
first  time  the  thorough  melody  of  verse  and  the  full 
resources  of  style  were  employed  in  English.  This 
is  not  the  place,  however,  to  discuss  the  general 
merits  and  defects  of  Spenser,  "  moving  through  his 
clouded  heaven.  With  the  moon's  beauty  and  the 
moon's  soft  pace,'' — his  delicate  loveliness,  his 
high-mindedness,  his  harmony,  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  his  archaisms,  his  languid  prolixity  and  his 
want  of  humour.  We  are  concerned  only  with  that 
small  part  of  his  work  which  can  be  interpreted  as 
political  satire.  Yet  in  that  part  his  position  with 
regard  to  later  writings  is  much  the  same  as  in  his 
finer  compositions.  He  uses  the  types  of  subse- 
quent methods  and  styles  of  satire  in  a  less 
specialized  form  than  after-writers.  Mockery, 
denunciation  and  depreciatory  narrative  are  all 
there.  So,  too,  he  is  a  learned  satirist,  looking 
back  to  earlier  poets,  and  directing  the  development 
of  art  for  posterity. 

The  last  characteristic  is  very  marked  in  the 
Shepheard's  Calendar  (1579),  where  he  combines 
the  Chaucerian  and  the  Vergilian  traditions. 
Neither  influence  was  without  its  ill-effects.  The 
misread  Chaucerian  verse  makes  him  often  scan 
by  the  four  stress-beats  in  the  line  of  nine  or  ten 
syllables,  and  though  his  ear  saved  him  from  any 


II]  SPENSER  49 

discordance,  the  over-emphasis,  necessary  for  the 

accents,  renders  the  verse  monotonous  and  limits 

the  expressiveness   of  the  style.     It  goes  best, 

I  think,  with   the   happy  lilt   describing   rustic 

gaieties  in  the  days  of  Catholicism: 

Yougthes  folke  now  flocken  in  every  where, 
To  gather  May  bus-kets  and  smelling  brere: 
And  home  they  hasten  the  postes  to  dight, 
And  all  the  Kirke  pillours  eare  day  light, 
With  Hawthorne  buds,  and  swete  Eglantine, 
And  girlonds  of  roses,  and  Sopps  in  wine. 

Then  the  Vergilian  influence  makes  him  select  the 

Pastoral  Eclogue  for  his  subject,  and  although, 

with    regard    to   the   pretty,   fanciful   poetry    it 

produces,  his  choice  is  not  to  be  regretted,  it  ruins 

the  satiric  parts  to  have  theologians  grotesquely 

garbed  in  sheepskin  and  discussing  their  differences 

with  a  marvellous  affectation  of  pedantic  ignorance. 

Spenser's  heart  was  in  the  Protestant  cause,  but 

the  fact  did  not  greatly  aid  his  verse.    Here  is  his 

criticism  of  the  Papist  clergy  abroad : 

The  shepheardes  swayne  you  cannot  wel  ken. 
But  it  be  by  his  pryde,  from  other  men: 
They  looken  bigge  as  Bulls  that  bene  bate, 
And  bearen  the  cragge  so  stiffe  and  so  state. 
As  cocke  on  his  dunghill  crowing  cranck. 

For  the  rest  he  could  not  help  showing  he  was  a 
great  poet,  though  here  dreary  in  a  way  that  is 
not  usual  with  him. 

But  little  later  than  the  Shepheard's  Calendar 
Spenser  seems  to  have  written  a  purely  satiric 
poem,  Mother  Hubberd's  Tale,  though  it  was 
published  and  probably  revised  after  some  years 

o.  4 


50        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS       [ch. 

had  elapsed.    This  is  a  kind  of  fable,  in  which  not 

only  the  influence  of  Chaucer,  but  that  of  Lyndsay 

and  of  the  beast-tales  of  Reynard  the  Fox  are  to 

be  seen.     The  metre  consists  of  the  heroic  rhymed 

couplets,  which  were  to  become  the  classic  medium 

for  English  satire.     Spenser's  management  of  this 

verse,   though  he  was  almost  a  pioneer,   excels 

that  of  most  of  his  successors.     Discreetly  varied, 

avoiding  the  perpetual  isolated  couplet  with  its 

limited    rhythms   which  was    to    culminate  with 

Pope,  but  at  the  same  time  well-knit  and  far  from 

the  straggling  and  involved  composition  of  most  of 

his  followers,  his  lines  swing  along  with  a  free 

athletic  movement.     He  had  much  success,  too, 

with  his  subject-matter,  and  came,  perhaps,  as  near 

as  any  one  to  using  the  beast-fable  concerning 

purely  human  doings  with  propriety  of  incident 

and  treatment. 

The  Ape  and  the  Fox  set  out  to  gain  their 

living  by  knavish  means,  and  in  the  course  of  their 

adventures  a  good  number  of  social  abuses  are 

exposed    by  the   poet.      The    sturdy  rogue,  the 

simoniac  parson,  the  baser  type  of  courtier  are 

all  satirized  with  an  ironical  humour  one  would 

barely  expect  in  Spenser.   For  instance  the  parson 

cannot  read  manuscript  or  write  : 

Of  such  deep  learning  little  had  he  neede, 

Ne  yet  of  Latine,  ne  of  Greeke,  that  breede 

Doubts  mongst  Divines,  and  difference  of  texts, 

From  whence  arise  diversitie  of  sects. 

And  hatefull  heresies,  of  God  abhor'd  : 

But  this  good  Sir  did  follow  the  plaine  word, 

Ne  medled  with  their  controversies  vaine. 


11]  SPENSER  51 

But  besides  these  general  descriptions  there  is  also 
a  chief  incident  which  savours  of  a  more  personal 
enmity.  The  Ape  with  the  Fox's  help  steals  the 
Lion's  skin,  and  sets  up  as  king  with  his  partner 
as  prime  minister.  Now  the  Fox's  misdeeds  are 
those  which  might  be  charged  against  Lord  Bur- 
leigh.    He  provides  for  his  offspring: 

He  fed  his  cubs  with  fat  of  all  the  soyle, 
And  with  the  sweate  of  others  sweating  toyle; 
He  crammed  them  with  crumbs  of  benefices, 
And  fild  their  mouths  with  meeds  of  maiefices: 
He  cloathed  them  with  all  colours,  save  white, 
And  loded  them  with  lordships  and  with  might. 
So  much  as  they  were  able  well  to  beare. 
That  with  the  weight  their  backs  nigh  broken  were. 

He  builds  as  Burleigh  did;  he  shares  Burleigh's 
dislike  for  war  and  unpractical  scholarship: 

Of  men  of  armes  he  had  but  small  regard. 
But  kept  them  lowe,  and  streigned  very  hard. 
For  men  of  learning  little  he  esteemed; 
His  wisdome  he  above  their  learning  deemed. 

When  we  remember  that  Spenser  was  a  proUg6  of 
Leicester,  who  never  saw  eye  to  eye  with  the 
Treasurer,  that  he  makes  similar  allusions  un- 
doubtedly to  Burleigh  in  later  poems,  and  that 
Burleigh  was  his  constant  enemy,  this  seems 
significant  enough,  especially  as  we  only  have  the 
last  draft  of  the  poem  and  probably  the  most 
cautious.  The  famous  lines  on  the  miseries  of  a 
suitor  at  court  are  commonly  considered  a  later 
insertion;  but  it  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  the 
metrification  of  its  couplets  is  in  the  regular 
Italian    and   French   decasyllabic  form,   whereas 

4—2 


62        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [CH. 

when  Spenser  writes  in  what  he  thought  Chaucer's 
heroic  couplet  in  the  Shepheard' s  Calendar,  he 
uses  the  four  accents  in  a  nine-  or  ten-syllabled 
line.  Mother  Hubberd's  Tale  being  a  youthful 
composition,  this  fact  suggests  that  the  whole  was 
rehandled  and  the  lines  were  filled  up  to  a  regular 
decasyllabic  metre.  But  if  Burleigh  was  the  Fox^ 
who  can  have  been  the  Ape,  the  travelled  knavish 
courtier?  It  is  tempting  to  see  in  him  the  French 
envoy  Simier,  who  in  1579  came  to  court  to  woo 
the  Queen  by  deputy  for  the  Duke  of  Alengon* 
He  was  received  with  great  favour;  the  match 
seemed  decided  on;  and  the  Council,  including 
Burleigh,  resigned  themselves  to  supporting  it. 
One  can  well  imagine  the  indignation  of  the  fa- 
vourite Leicester,  and  we  know  the  fear  it  excited 
in  the  kingdom,  lest  the  Lion  were  beguiled  of  her 
virgin  sovranty.  In  any  case  the  poem  was  frowned 
on,  and  only  published,  perhaps,  as  I  have  hinted, 
in  a  less  pungent  form,  in  1591. 

Spenser  did  not  abandon  contemporary  politics 
in  his  later  verse,  but  in  the  references  to  state- 
affairs  in  the  Faerie  Queene  he  is  always  the  ardent 
partisan  of  the  royal  policy.  These  references 
only  appear  in  the  last  three  books,  published  in 
1595,  and  deal  mostly  with  the  great  religious  wars 
then  raging.  The  best  of  them  attack  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots  under  the  name  of  Duessa,  who  in  the 
first  three  books  had  typified  false  Christianity  and 
especially  the  Church  of  Rome, 


II]  SPENSER  53 

Then  was  there  brought,  as  prisoner  to  the  barre, 
A  Ladie  of  great  countenance  and  place, 
But  that  she  it  with  foule  abuse  did  marre; 
Yet  did  appeare  rare  beautie  in  her  face, 
But  blotted  with  condition  vile  and  base, 
That  all  her  other  honour  did  obscure, 
And  titles  of  nobilitie  deface : 
Yet  in  that  wretched  semblant  she  did  sure 
The  peoples  great  compassion  unto  her  allure. 

She  is  tried  before  Elizabeth,  here  named  Mercilla, 
and  accused  by  Zeal.    Her  sins  are  not  forgotten : 

Then  brought  he  forth  with  griesly  grim  aspect 
Abhorred  Murder,  who,  with  bloudie  knyfe 
Yet  dropping  fresh  in  hand,  did  her  detect. 
And  there  with  guiltie  bloodshed  charged  ryfe: 
Then  brought  he  forth  Sedition,  breeding  stryfe 
In  troublous  wits,  and  mutinous  uprore: 
Then  brought  he  forth  Incontinence  of  lyfe, 
Even  foule  Adulterie  her  face  before, 
And  lewd  Impietie,  that  her  accused  sore. 

Mercilla  suspends  judgment  till  "strong  constraint" 
forces  her  to  condemn  her  rival.  There  is  much 
excellence  of  art  about  all  this,  but  few,  I  think, 
would  not  prefer  the  less  pamphleteering  cantos. 
We  next  have  the  revolt  of  the  Dutch  against 
Philip  II  under  the  names  of  Belgae  and  Gerioneo, 
then  Henry  IV's  reconciliation  to  Rome  and  the 
close  of  the  French  Civil  War,  then  an  idealized 
version  of  Arthur  Lord  Grey's  campaigns  in 
Ireland.  All  of  these  incidents  have  their  merits 
as  romantic  tales,  even  if  they  are  not  among  the 
best  in  the  Faerie  Queene.  As  satires  they  are 
hopelessly  unreal :  they  are  not  pungent,  although 
they  do  some  service  in  making  the  side  the  poet 
espoused  attractive.     So  far  as  Spenser  was  con- 


64        SATIRE  UNDER  THE  DESPOTS     [ch. 

cerned,  we  feel  that  these  historic  episodes  were 

not  his  natural  haunts,  not  the 

magic  casements  opening  on  the  foam 
Of  perilous  seas  in  faery  lands  forlorn. 

The  dramatists  of  the  age  also  made  incursions 
into  the  realm  of  politics  from  time  to  time  ;  but 
they  were  usually  discreet  enough  to  deal  only  with 
the  past,  and  then  chiefly  with  a  view  to  dramatic 
situations.  Magna  Carta  is  never  mentioned  in 
Shakespeare's  King  John,  On  the  other  hand  a 
piece  like  Marlowe's  Massacre  of  Paris  dealing 
with  foreign  affairs  can  be  outspoken  on  the  subject 
of  the  enemies  of  the  English  state.  We  might, 
too,  put  down  Shakespeare's  delineations  of  the 
mob  to  satire,  but  they  are  rather  part  of  the  social 
picture  he  gives  us. 

Indeed,  if  politics  are  of  rare  occurrence  in  the 
Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  poetry,  social  satire  was 
not  uncommon.  We  have  Gascoigne,  who  wrote  in 
blank  verse,  Spenser,  Lodge,  Drayton,  Wither  and 
others,  while  the  plays  of  course  frequently  have 
satiric  passages.  Two  authors  may  be  specially 
mentioned  for  their  more  original  form.  Joseph 
Hall  (1574—1656),  Bishop  of  Norwich,  published 
his  satires  in  1597.  He  claimed  to  be  the  first  to 
attempt  the  kind  of  writing  in  England,  and  this  is 
true  in  so  far  as  he  was  the  first  studiously  to 
imitate  the  Latin  satirists.  It  is  noticeable  that  for 
his  half-rhetorical  purpose  he  made  his  couplets 
somewhat  more  epigrammatic  in  form  ;  the  sen- 


II]  SOCIAL  SATIRE  65 

tences  overflow  into  the  next  couplet  much  less 
often  than  Spenser's.  Yet  this  method  of  writing 
heroic  decasyllabics  was  not  so  unusual  in  senten- 
tious passages.  Mr  Courthope  has  said  that  he 
suffered  from  the  fact  that  there  was  not  enough 
refined  vice  in  England  for  him  to  denounce.  But 
his  rival,  Marston  (1575 — 1674),  the  playwright, 
overcame  this  difficulty  by  overcharging  his  pictures 
with  reckless  abuse.  The  latter's  mouthing  ex- 
aggerations were  castigated  by  his  contemporaries  : 
yet  their  virulence  of  tone  and  air  of  lofty  impec- 
cable indignation  were  not  soon  to  desert  English 
satire.  For  himself,  he  was  merely  scurrilous  :  the 
young  bloods  of  1600  were  not  the  equals  of  their 
elders. 


CHAPTER  III 

iTHE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE 

The  "good  obedience"  which  her  subjects 
yielded  to  Elizabeth  began  to  fall  away  after  the 
defeat  of  the  Armada.  The  nation  enjoyed  a  new 
sense  of  security  and  needed  less  the  guidance  of 
an  autocrat.  The  Queen  herself  was  growing  old, 
and  was  slo\dy  losing  touch  with  the  new  genera- 
tion. More  than  all,  the  "  people,"  the  classes  of 
political  importance,  had  changed.  Squire  and 
merchant  had  been  thoroughly  drilled  in  local  self- 
government  by  the  Tudors.  Their  position  as  crown- 
officials,  chosen  for  their  local  influence,  made  them 
a  different  political  force  fi'om  either  the  aristo- 
cracy or  the  bureaucracy  of  France,  where  the 
policy  of  the  Crown  was  to  divorce  the  nobles 
from  power  in  their  districts  and  make  officialdom 
solely  dependent  on  the  central  authority.  True 
the  Tudors  from  the  beginning  had  rested,  not  on  a 
military  force  which  they  did  not  possess,  but  on 
the  voluntary  obedience  of  the  upper  classes ; 
but  in  1500  those  classes  were  a  frightened  mob. 


Ill]  THE  STEWARTS  57 

clinging  desperately  to  the  strong  race  which  could 
save  them,  and  desperately  afraid  of  their  pre- 
servers. In  1600  they  were  self-confident,  used 
to  govern  and  consult  together,  equipped  with 
traditions  of  public  and  private  life,  and  indi- 
vidually keenly  susceptible  to  a  public  opinion 
which  could  even  express  itself  in  Parliament  under 
all  the  disadvantage  in  which  that  fleeting  body 
stood  in  respect  to  the  Crown. 

The  accession  of  James  I  was  itself  a  shock  to 
the  royal  power.  The  king  was  a  foreigner,  a  Scot, 
and  his  rule  was  mistrusted  from  the  first  as  such. 
Nor  did  he  hold  the  reins  with  the  deft  despotic 
hands  of  Elizabeth.  The  system  of  the  Tudors 
soon  began  to  decay  as  his  reign  went  on.  From 
criticism  and  protest  Parliament  proceeded  to 
claims  for  an  active  share  in  the  government.  A 
permanent  estrangement  set  in  between  the  royal 
house  and  the  Commons ;  and  under  Charles  I 
rapid  progress  was  made  towards  a  revolution. 

Besides  those  grounds  of  dispute  which  con- 
cerned the  limits  of  the  royal  prerogative,  the 
rights  of  Parliament  and  the  liberties  of  the  subject, 
one  principal  cause  of  discord  lay  in  the  Elizabe- 
than religious  settlement  and  in  its  developments 
under  the  Stewarts.  The  Queen,  by  a  judicious 
mixture  of  goading  and  curbing,  had  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  considerable  acquiescence  in  her 
insular,  reformed,  but  conservative  church.  She 
had  reduced  the  Catholics  to  an  impotent  and 


58    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE    [ch. 

persecuted  minority  ;  but  the  advanced  reformers, 
the  Puritans,  she  had  found  harder  to  check. 
After  her  death  definitely  Puritan  views  gained 
ground  among  the  country-gentry  and  the  towns- 
men, till  in  1640  they  could  obtain  the  suffrage  of 
the  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons.  For  our 
special  purpose  we  may  omit  the  more  speculative 
points  on  which  there  were  differences  of  ofjinion. 
In  external  matters  the  Puritans  were  advocates  of 
a  simpler  ceremonial  and  a  new  system  of  church- 
government.  They  wished  for  presbyteries  and 
synods  to  replace  episcopacy,  and  they  were  no 
friends  of  the  Royal  Supremacy.  At  the  same  time 
there  was  a  strong  minority  in  Parliament  which 
would  approve  the  existing  ecclesiastical  system, 
though  not  perhaps  in  favour  of  all  Archbishop 
Laud's  innovations.  Both  these  church-parties  of 
course  were  for  enforcing  conformity  according  to 
their  own  views  in  the  national  church,  for  tolera- 
tion was  an  idea  as  yet  barely  broached  in  England ; 
and  the  question  was  complicated  by  the  slow  rise 
of  Puritan  Sectaries,  whose  doctrines  would  be 
regarded  as  heretical  by  either  leading  section  of 
opinion.  As  may  be  supposed,  the  religious  quarrel 
embittered  every  secular  dispute,  and  eventually 
exacerbated  party-feeling  to  the  extent  of  civil 
war. 

While  this  state  of  religious  and  political  ten- 
sion existed  in  England,  Charles  quarrelled  with 
the  Scots  over  another  form  of  the  same  ecclesias- 


Ill]  THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT  59 

tical  controversy,  and  was  worsted  in  the  Second 
Bishops'  War.  In  1640  the  Long  Parliament  met, 
and  the  despotism  which  Tudors  and  Stewarts 
had  exercised  came  to  its  end.  Parliament  had 
the  King  at  its  mercy,  for  the  victorious  Scots 
were  encamped  for  some  months  in  the  North  and 
money  had  to  be  supplied  according  to  the  Treaty 
of  Ripon  in  order  to  furnish  monthly  payments 
to  them. 

At  first  there  was  a  fairly  general  agreement. 
Few  desired  a  renewal  of  Charles'  absolute  govern- 
ment. The  extensions  of  the  Prerogative  under 
the  Tudors  went  by  the  board.  But  when  Parlia- 
ment came  to  deal  with  religious  matters,  a  split 
occurred.  Besides  a  certain  number,  who  supported 
the  Church's  system  and  doctrines  as  understood 
by  Archbishop  Laud,  there  was  a  large  party  of 
moderate  men  who  were  by  no  means  anxious 
to  abolish  the  bishops  completely  and  establish 
undiluted  Presbyterianism.  They  were  barely 
outnumbered  by  the  thorough-going  Puritans  in 
the  Commons,  and  with  them  as  supporters  the 
Kjing  had  a  considerable  party.  As  event  followed 
event  through  the  winter  of  1641-2,  it  was  these 
men,  such  as  Falkland  and  Hyde,  who  were  content 
with  the  work  the  Long  Parliament  had  already 
done  and  resisted  the  Puritan  majority  which 
wished  to  go  further,  both  in  church-matters  and 
in  restricting  the  royal  power.  So  when  the  Civil 
War  that  had  so  long  been  brewing  began,  the 


60    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE    [ch. 

opposing  parties  were  formed  largely  on  religious 
grounds.  The  lines  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  divi- 
sion had  become  identical.  It  was  King  and 
Bishops  against  Parliament  and  Presbyteries  ;  and 
the  lesser  sections  of  opinion  were  either  absorbed 
by  or  grouped  around  these  protagonists. 

A  good  deal  of  Puritan  feeling  during  these 
eventful  years  may  be  gathered  from  two  Puritan 
poets,  Milton  and  the  lesser  light,  Wither,  just  as 
the  episcopalian,  Cavalier  side  is  taken  by  Cleve- 
land. Milton's  contribution  to  the  dispute,  however, 
was  almost  wholly  made  in  prose  and  falls  outside 
the  limits  of  the  present  essay.  In  his  poetry  we 
have  only  the  reference  in  Lycidas  to  the  Laudian 
clergy  and  one  sonnet.  About  Lycidas  it  is  of 
course  impossible  to  say  anything  new.  Like 
/  Spenser's  Calendar  its  satire  is  handicapped  by  the 
V  pastoral  convention  ;  but  the  magic  of  Milton's 
style,  exceeding  that  of  any  other  English  poet,  the 
beauty  of  the  several  images  and  the  moral  grandeur 
of  the  conceptions,  make  us  forget  all  inconsistency 
and  incongruity  :  St  Peter  among  gods  and  learned 
shepherds  is  still  impressive.  After  all,  perhaps, 
there  was  an  artistic  harmony  governing  the  bizarre 
pastoral  world  and  Milton  found  it. 

The  poet,  however,  by  1646  had  gone  further  in 
his  views  than  the  majority  of  Parliamentary 
Puritans.  He  had  become  the  champion  of  free 
thought  and  a  free  press,  and,  himself  a  sectary,  of 
toleration  in  religion.    Parliament,  to  please  its 


in]  MILTON  AND  WITHER  61 

Scotch  allies,  had  enforced  the  taking  of  the 
Covenant,  and  was  still  eagerly  intent  on  exacting 
a  Calvinistic  conformity.  Milton  does  not  seem  to 
have  despaired  of  the  Commons,  but  with  regard 
to  his  theological  opponents  his  wrath  knew  no 
bounds.  He  breaks  out  in  a  famous  sonnet  against 
the  Presbyterian  divines,  one  of  the  few  written 
in  English  after  the  satiric  codato  model.  One 
tyranny  had  been  exchanged  for  another,  he  says. 

New  presbyter  is  but  old  priest  writ  large. 
One  must  admit  that  however  fine  the  rugged 
vigour  of  this  sonnet  may  be,  it  is  a  very  small 
stone  beside  the  others  in  his  diadem. 

Far  more — in  his  lower  world — is  the  same 
kind  of  criticism  true  of  Wither  (1586— 166^).  An 
author  of  charming  lyric  poems,  on  his  conversion 
to  Puritanism  he  took  to  writing  continual  verse  on 
political  subjects.  He  started  with  an  immense 
rhymed  tract,  Britain's  Remembrancer,  in  1628, 
on  the  sins  of  the  nation  ;  and  maundered  on,  poor 
man,  for  some  thirty  years  with  barely  a  break  on 
the  same  subject.  Not  a  public  event  could  pass 
without  renewing  the  visitation  of  this  cacoethes 
scribendi,  2ind  in  his  character  of  a  chosen  vessel 
his  utterances  were  of  course  mainly  concerned  with 
reproof,  and  so  to  a  certain  extent  satiric.  Yet 
this  crank  was  an  honest,  fair-minded  man,  most 
unmalicious  in  temperament ;  and  by  a  fortunate 
consequence  his  lucubrations  have  much  less  to  do 
with  our  subject  than  might  be  expected.    He  was 


62    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE    [CH. 

for  toleration  and  moderate  counsels,  a  sober 
Cromwellian.  And  he  writes  sound  sense  amid  his 
eternal  preaching.  Here  is  his  comment  (What 
Peace  to  the  Wicked?)  in  1648,  when  Army, 
Parliament,  King  of  Scots,  were  all  at  loggerheads. 
The  war,  rooting  up  old  landmarks  as  it  did,  had 
favoured  the  formation  of  an  immense  variety  of 
opinions  in  all  departments  of  life  and  polity.  It 
had  also  created  the  professional  soldier. 

If  waste  Jerusalem  was  made, 
Who  therein  but  three  factions  had; 
This  Island,  how  may  w^e  deplore, 
Wherein  are  three  times  three  or  more? 
Some  with  the  Parliament  partake; 
Some  with  the  King  a  party  make, 
As  he  is  King;  and  some,  that  he 
A  Tyrant  might  become  to  be; 
Some  would  a  Popular  Estate; 
Some,  Aristocracy  create: 
Some,  are  a  faction  for  the  Pope, 
Some  to  maintain  the  Prelates  hope; 
Some  for  the  Presbyterians  vote; 
Some  Independency  promote; 
Some  strive  for  this  and  some  for  that, 
Some  neither  know  nor  care  for  what. 
So  wars  go  on,  and  get  they  may 
Free  Quarter,  Plunder  and  their  Pay. 

At  the  end  of  this  composition  he  writes,  "  Take  this 
and  consider  of  it  till  more  comes."  More  came. 
Even  after  the  Restoration  he  addressed  a  tract,  only 
recently  published,  to  Clarendon,  Vox  vulgi  (just 
what  it  was  not) ;  and  here  again  we  have  a  doggerel 
sermon,  with  sound  sense  at  bottom  and  once  or 
twice  a  flash  of  life  in  its  style.  He  reproves  the 
intolerant  Cavalier  Parliament : 


Ill]  CLEVELAND  63 

...you  are  such 
Quick-witted  things,  we  hear,  as  have  not  been 
In  any  British  Parliament  yet  seen; 
For,  whereas  they  consumed  much  time  in  stating 
What  was  to  them  proposed  and  in  debating, 
You  at  first  hearing  could  without  dispute 
All  arguments  with  noise  alone  confute, 
And  absolutely  be  resolved  too 
In  hardest  matters  that  ye  list  to  do 
In  spite  of  reason. 

The  sermon,  however,  passed  unheeded,  like  his 
others,  and  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  an 
author  who  had  less  effect  on  his  times  or  in 
literature.  His  very  life  was  spared,  when  captured 
by  the  Royalists,  on  Denham's  mocking  plea : 
*' While  Wither  lived,  he  could  not  be  the  worst 
poet  in  England/' 

In  his  literary  aspect  Wither  was  a  man  of  the 
old  world.     John  Cleveland  (1613-58)i  helped  to 
bring  about  a  new.      The   situation   after   1640 
with  its  clearly  marked  issues  cried  for  a  party- 
satirist  in  verse,  but  Milton  and  Wither  stood  aloof 
from  strict  parties.     A  swarm   of  ballad  writers 
filled  the  gap ;  yet  they  were  feeble  and  vulgar 
for  the  most   part :   and   Cleveland  stands  pre- 
eminent as    a    satirist    of   real    distinction    and 
originality,    the   founder    of   a   new   department/ 
in    English  literature.     He    is    the  first  English  \ 
writer  of  partisan  verse,  purely  political  in  his/ 
aims,  and  devoting  his  compositions  to  a  studious! 
attack  on  the  other  party  in  the  state.  / 

A  Cambridge  Fellow,  he  early  took  up  with  the 
Koyalist  and  anti-Presbyterian  side,  and  one  of 


64    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE    [ch. 

his  most  amusing  sallies  is  on  the  subject  of  the 
hated  £^^  caetera  oath  to  maintain  Episcopacy,  which 
there  was  an  attempt  to  enforce  on  the  clergy 
and  universities  in  1640.  Two  Zealots  discuss  the 
matter  ;  and  one  declares  : 

I  say  to  the  Et  caetera^  thou  ly'st, 

Thou  art  the  curled  lock  of  Antichrist; 

Rubbish  of  Babel;  for  who  will  not  say 

Tongues  are  confounded  in  Et  caeteral 

"Who  swears  Et  caetera,  swears  more  oaths  at  once 

Than  Cerberus  out  of  his  triple  sconce. 

Who  views  it  well  with  the  same  eye  beholds 

The  old,  false  serpent  in  his  numerous  folds. 

We  have  here  the  main  characteristics  of  Cleveland, 
the  somewhat  harsh  verse,  the  whimsical  learning/ li 
which  approaches  the  obscure,  and  above  all  the 
rapid  volley  of  abusive  wit,  increasing  the  ridicule 
by  the  very  jostling  of  the  images.  Thus  Cleveland 
and  his  school  obtained  a  "  higher  power  "  of  that 

\i  contrast  of  incongruities  and  that  surprise  which 

i  go  so  far  to  make  up  wit. 

As  time  went  on  Cleveland  was  ejected  from 
his  fellowship  and  joined  the  King  at  Oxford.  His 
tone  became  bitterer  as  may  be  seen  in  the  Hue 
and  Cry  after  Sir  John  Presbyter, 

What  zealous  Phrenzy  did  the  Senate  seize, 
That  tore  the  rochet  to  such  rags  as  these? 
Episcopacy  minced;  reforming  Tweed 
Has  sent  us  runts,  even  of  her  Church's  breed. 


Sure  they're  the  antic  heads,  which,  placed  without 
The  Church,  do  gape  and  disembogue  a  spout: 
Like  them  about  the  Commons'  House  t'have  been 
So  long  without,  now  both  are  gotten  in. 

There  is  a  kind  of  triumphant  scorn  in  this,  such 


Ill]  CLEVELAND  65 

as  we  can  imagine  the  scholar  Cleveland  felt  for 
Presbyterian  Wither.  But  he  betters  his  work  in 
his  finest  satire,  The  Rebel  Scot.  The  Scots 
were  not  only  the  cause  of  the  King's  mischief  and 
the  main  props  of  Presbyterianism  ;  they  were 
hated  by  the  English  as  Scots ;  and  Cleveland 
with  his  fiery,  frank  nature,  was  just  the  man  to 
express  the  combined  feelings. 

How!  Providence!  and  yet  a  Scottish  crew? 
Then  Madam  Nature  wears  black  patches  too. 
What !  shall  our  nation  be  in  bondage  thus 
Unto  a  land  that  truckles  under  us?^ 
Ring  the  bells  backward!  I  am  all  on  fire; 
Not  all  the  buckets  in  a  country  choir 
Shall  quench  my  rage.    A  poet  should  be  fear'd, 
When  angiy,  like  a  comet's  flaming  beard. 
And  Where's  the  Stoic  can  his  wrath  appease 
To  see  his  country  sick  of  Pym's  disease; 
By  Scotch  invasion  to  be  made  a  prey 
To  such  Pig-widgin  Myrmidons  as  they? 

The  Scotch  alliance  of  course  was  the  great  device 
by  which  Pym  prepared  to  redress  the  balance  of 
the  war  in  1643.  The  price  paid  was  the  adoption 
of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  by  Parliament 
and  the  disbursing  of  heavy  subsidies.  Cleveland 
proceeds  in  an  hyperbole  of  depreciation  and  scorn, 
in  which  as  in  his  other  methods  of  satire  he  set 
the  fashion  for  a  generation  : 

/  Nature  herself  does  Scotchmen  Beasts  confess, 
/    Making  their  country  such  a  wilderness; 
I    A  land  that  brings  in  question  and  suspense 
\    God's  omnipresence,  but  that  Charles  came  thence; 

'   But  that  Montross  and  Crawford's  royal  band 
Atoned  their  sin  and  christen'd  half  their  land. 

1  Does  this  refer  to  the  truckle-bed  of  the  scholar  kept  under 
that  of  the  Fellow  in  the  College  Dormitories  ? 

O.  6 


66      DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [CH. 

Nor  is  it  all  the  nation  liath  these  spots; 

There  is  a  Church  as  well  as  Kirk  of  Scots, 

As  in  a  picture  where  the  squinting  paint 

Shows  fiend  on  this  side  and  on  that  side  saints 

He  that  saw  Hell  in's  melancholy  dream, 

And  in  the  twilight  of  his  fancy's  theme 

Scared  from  his  sins,  repented  in  a  fright. 

Had  he  view'd  Scotland,  had  tum'd  proselyte. 

A  land  where  one  may  pray  with  curst  intent : 

0  may  they  never  suffer  banishment ! 
j  Had  Cain  been  Scot,  God  would  have  changed  his  doom, 
I  Not  forced  him  wander,  but  confined  him  home. 
I  Like  Jews  they  spread  and  as  infection  fly, 
!  As  if  the  Devil  had  ubiquity. 
'  Hence  'tis  they  live  at  rovers  and  defy 

This  or  that  place,  rags  of  geography. 
!  They're  citizens  o'  th'  world,  they're  all  in  all; 
'  Scotland's  a  nation  epidemical. 

Was  it  for  this  you  left  your  leaner  soil. 

Thus  to  lard  Israel  with  Egypt's  spoil? 

They  are  the  Gospel's  Life-guard;  but  for  them 

(The  garrison  of  new  Jerusalem) 

What  would  the  Brethren  do?    The  Cause!    The  Cause! 

Sack-possets  and  the  fundamental  laws! 

It  has  been  said^  that  the  compression  of  a 
separate  scoff  into  almost  every  couplet  produces 
a  strained  effect ;  yet  the  style  after  all  needs  this 
rapid  movement,  the  individual  witticisms  not 
being  substantial  enough  to  stand  alone.  It  is 
with  no  surprise  we  hear  that  Cleveland  was  a 
witty  companion.  His  verses  sound  like  a  string 
of  repartees,  and  trace  their  origin  to  Biron  in 
Love's  Labour's  Lost.  The  man  is  pretty  obvious 
in  his  rhymes.  We  have  the  student  from  the 
University  with  his  medley  of  quaint,  ill-assorted 

1  Picture  on  a  grooved  board,  showing  a  different  head 
according  to  whether  it  is  looked  at  from  the  left  or  right,  not 
uncommon  in  North  Italy  for  saints,  etc. 

2  By  Prof.  Courthope. 


Ill]  BALLADS  67 

learning,  scholastic  and  Biblical.  These  were  the 
days  before  specialization,  but  nevertheless,  what 
a  richly-furnished  learning  flourished  then,  when 
Milton  was  primus  inter  pares !  Cleveland,  how- 
ever, can  hardly  be  called  a  great  writer.  He  had 
very  little  artistic  power  or  ear  for  verse.  His 
imagination  did  not  suffice  to  complete  any  image. 
It  would  be  useless  to  look  for  reasoning  or 
thought  in  him.  In  wit  he  was  quite  inferior  to 
his  successors,  Butler  or  Marvell :  his  sarcasms  are 
mere  savage  quips.  But  he  set  the  fashion  and 
has  made  himself  a  name. 

Both  Cleveland  and  Wither,  so  diflferent  in 
character  and  writings,  had  one  common  peculi- 
arity. They  belonged  to  special  sections  of  society, 
and  are  almost  too  typical  and  pronounced  in 
mental  feature  to  represent  England  at  large, 
although  the  circumstance  does  not  detract  much 
from  their  influence.  For  more  usual  ways  of 
thought  we  must  look  elsewhere,  and  fortunately, 
as  far  as  politics  go,  we  have  various  satiric 
ballads  to  our  hand.  The  authors  of  these  com- 
positions were  often  men  of  some  celebrity — Cleve- 
land himself  wrote  ballads, — but  they  were  meant 
for  street  corners  and  appeal  solely  to  the  vulgar. 
Two  characters  mark  them  ofl"  at  once  from  serious 
satire.  First,  their  tone,  manner  and  feeling,  some 
coarseness  excepted,  are  less  archaic  to  us  than 
those  of  more  dignified  contemporary  worka  The 
general  temperament  of  Englishmen  has  been  a  more 

5—2 


68     DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [ch. 

constant  factor  than  the  finest  fruits  of  their  genius 
under  the  special  training  of  each  age  would  lead  us 
to  believe.  Secondly,  while  the  religious  contro- 
versy is  all  in  all  for  Cleveland  in  his  more  literary 
vein  at  least,  in  the  ballads  we  do  not  hear  much 
even  of  high  politics.  Quite  early,  it  is  true,  there 
are  some  wretched  ballads  (1625-8)  directed  against 
Buckingham's  ascendency  over  Charles  I,  but  when 
we  come  to  the  final  contest  it  is  such  subjects  as 
taxes,  the  hated  excise,  governmental  corruption, 
the  confiscation  of  the  Cavaliers'  estates,  and  the 
suppression  of  the  familiar  Common  Prayer,  that 
we  find  most  satirized  under  the  Commonwealth, 
and  as  Cromwell's  rule  wears  out  and  the  Resto- 
ration is  in  sight,  the  loathing  of  the  army  breaks 
out  more  and  more.  ^^ 

The  best  of  the  ballad-writers  is  Alexander 
Brome  (1620-66).  He  chiefly,  however,  wrote 
Bacchanalian  songs  with  a  slight  Cavalier  quali- 
fication added  to  the  wine,  something  in  the  style 
of  Wildrake  in  Scott's  Woodstock.  Only  every 
now  and  then  he  becomes  more  political.  One 
occasion  was  furnished  him  in  1648-9  by  the  King's 
execution  and  the  establishment  of  the  Common- 
wealth. The  Lower  House  was  purged  of  its 
Presbyterian  members  by  Colonel  Pryde,  King 
and  Lords  were  abolished,  and  the  sectarian  Rump 
of  the  Commons  started  to  govern  with  the  support 
of  the  Army.  These  revolutionary  proceedings 
were  satirized  by  Brome  in  his  Levellers'  Rant,  in 


Ill]  BROME  69 

which  the  Cavalier  poet  chose  to  identify  the 
army-officers  in  power  with  the  extremer  fanatics, 
the  Levellers. 

To  the  hall,  to  the  hall, 
For  justice  we  call, 
On  the  King  and  his  powerful  adherents  and  friends. 
Who  still  have  endeavour'd,  but  we  work  their  ends. 
'Tis  we  that  pull  down  whate'er  is  above  us. 
And  make  them  to  fear  us  that  never  did  love  us. 
We'll  level  the  proud  and  make  every  degree 
To  our  royalty  bow  the  knee. 
'Tis  no  less  than  treason 
'Gainst  freedom  and  reason 
For  our  brethren  to  be  higher  than  we. 

First  the  thing  called  a  king 
To  judgment  we  bring, 
And  the  spawn  of  the  court,  that  were  prouder  than  he; 
And  next  the  two  houses  united  shall  be: 
It  does  to  the  Romish  religion  inveigle. 
For  the  state  to  be  two-headed  like  the  spread-eagle. 
We'll  purge  the  superfluous  members  away ; 
They  are  too  many  kings  to  sway. 
And  as  we  all  teach, 
'Tis  our  liberty's  breach. 
For  the  free-born  Saints  to  obey. 

Not  a  claw  in  the  law 
Shall  keep  us  in  awe 
We'll  have  no  cushion-cuffers  to  tell  us  of  Hell, 
For  we  are  all  gifted  to  do  it  as  well. 
'Tis  freedom  that  we  do  hold  forth  to  the  nation 
To  enjoy  our  fellow-creatures  as  at  the  creation; 

The  carnal  men's  wives  are  for  men  of  the  Spirit, 
Their  wealth  is  our  own  by  merit; 
For  we,  that  have  right 
By  the  law  call'd  might, 
Are  the  Saints  that  must  judge  and  inherit.  — . 

It  will  be  seen  how  much  nearer  than  The  Rebel 
Scot  is  this  jovial  burlesque  to  the  political  squibs 
of  our  own  day.  ^  And  it  is  very  good,  with  its 
rushing  swing  and  racy  humour.    Nor  is  it  so 


70     DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE   [ch. 

exaggerated  as  one  would  think.  The  genuine 
Levellers  were  communists ;  and  there  was  always 
a  certain  antinomy  among  the  Sectarians  in  general 
between  a  reign  of  democracy  and  a  reign  of  the 
Saints,  the  Saints  being  of  course  themselves. 

Few,  if  any,  of  the  other  ballads  equal  Brome's, 
but  still  there  is  humour  and  wit  in  plenty,  that 
j  even  now  are  not  quite  stale.     Up  to  1648  the 
^  j  Committee  of  the  Commons  which  directed  the 
■  administration  is  the  chief  butt.    It  was  exaspera- 
ting everybody  with  taxation  and  corruption,  as 
well  as  by  its  endeavours  "to  purge  the  Church 
and  wicked  State."   Then  the  death  of  Charles  and 
J   j  the  fall  of  the  Presbyterians  made  Cromwell  and 
1  the  soldiers  the  bugbear  of  the  nation.     One  poor, 
stagy  ballad  expresses  a  common  feeling.    The 
"people"  address  King  Charles: 

Meantime  (thou  glory  of  the  earth) 

We  languishing  do  die: 
Excise  doth  give  free-quarter  birth, 

While  soldiers  multiply. 
Our  lives  we  forfeit  every  day, 

Our  money  cuts  our  throats : 
The  laws  are  taken  clean  away, 

Or  shrunk  to  traitors'  votes. 

Cromwell  answers  "on  the  throne" : 

Like  patient  mules  resolve  to  bear 

Whate'er  we  shall  impose. 
Your  lives  and  goods  you  need  not  fear; 

We'll  prove  your  friends,  not  foes. 
We,  the  elected  ones,  nmst  guide 

A  thousand  years  this  land; 
You  must  be  props  unto  our  pride 

And  slaves  to  our  command. 


Ill]  BALLADS  71 

In  spite  of  the  miserable  quality  of  these  lines 
they  express  pretty  fairly  the  questions  at  issue. 
Of  course  Cromwell  was  a  monster  to  the  Royalists. 
Events,  however,  were  taking  a  turn  unfavourable 
to  satire.  In  a  few  years  the  Rump  itself  shared 
the  fate  of  the  purged  members,  and  Cromwell 
ruled  as  Protector  to  carry  out  the  Army's  policy. 
The  military  government  which  was  necessary  to 
keep  down  the  unwilling  kingdom,  now  almost 
unanimous  for  a  Restoration  of  Charles  II,  made 
his  rule  hated  still  more.  But  it  was  becoming 
dangerous  to  speak  under  Cromwell's  Major- 
Generals.  Cleveland,  though  in  an  attractive 
incident  he  maintained  an  honourable  frankness, 
was  silent  and  ballad- writing  died  down.  Besides, 
there  was  less  to  satirize  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
new  government  which  was  efficient  and  successful 
at  home  and  abroad,  although  its  ways  were  stern. 
Cromwell's  death  and  the  fall  of  the  Protectorate 
both  allowed  satire  to  be  published  and  gave  it 
opportune  material.  The  Rump,  which  no  one 
respected,  was  soon  restored  to  authority  again, 
but  subject  in  its  exercise  to  the  Army's  whims. 
We  can  see  how  bitter  Royalist  feeling  was  from 
the  following  extracts,  written  in  a  then  frequent 
form  : 

From  dissembling  presbyters  and  their  plots, 
From  English  forty  times  worse  than  Scots, 
From  those  that  for  our  estates  cast  lots, 
Libera  nos,  Domine! 


n     DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [ch. 

From  the  City  militia  that  stare  like  Hectors, 
From  such  as  are  the  state-projectors, 
From  taxes,  redcoats  and  collectors. 
Libera  nos,  Domine ! 


From  dissembling  sects  and  their  goggle-eyes, 
From  believing  of  the  printed  lies. 
From  rogues  and  from  re-publique  spies. 
Libera  nos,  Domine ! 

The  ordinary  Englishman  had  come  to  loathe  the 
Commonwealth,  with  its  exactions,  its  military 
tyranny,  its  religious  busybodies,  its  instability. 
"From  a  Rump  insatiate  as  the  sea,"  says  another 
Litany^  "Libera  nos,  Domine ! " 

Better  times  were  coming,  and  with  the  Re- 
storation comes  also  a  change  of  subject.  First  we 
have  the  jubilation  over  the  vanquished,  ballads  on 
regicides,  discharged  redcoats,  and  fifth-monarchy 
men :  but  soon  a  note  of  discord  enters.  Ballads 
are  now  directed  against  the  Court,  and  there  is 
the  due  counter-attack  on  the  Country-party  by 
the  other  side,  both  steadily  growing  bitterer  as 
the  strife  becomes  that  of  Whig  and  Tory.  Still 
no  new  genre  is  created ;  the  old  forms  of  Common- 
wealth satire  continue.  Indeed  the  whole  species 
of  writing  is  cast  somewhat  into  the  shade  by  the 
more  literary  form  of  satire,  which  drew  its  origin 
from  Cleveland.  The  best  ballad-writer,  Marvell, 
made  his  mark  chiefly  in  the  more  ambitious  style. 
There  is  a  certain  dreariness,  I  think,  in  these 
fourth-rate  compositions,  in  spite  of  their  impor- 
tance when  we  try  to  gauge  popular  feeling.     Still 


Ill]  THE  RESTORATION  73 

one  mocking  set  of  verses,  Royal  Resolutions, 
once  wrongly  attributed  to  Marvell,  has  some 
originality.  Charles  II  speaks,  all  the  gloss  of 
Restoration  gone: 

I'll  wholly  abandon  all  public  aflfairs, 

And  pass  all  my  time  with  buflfoons  and  players, 

And  saunter  to  Nelly  when  I  should  be  at  prayers. 

I'll  have  a  fine  pond  with  a  pretty  decoy, 
Where  many  strange  fowl  shall  feed  and  enjoy, 
And  still  in  their  language  quack  Vive  le  Roi! 

This  is  Old  Rowley  in  his  habit  as  he  lived. 
/  If  there  is  a  slight  degeneracy  in  ballad- 
( writing,  the  reign  of  Charles  II  as  a  whole  is  the 
golden  age  of  English  political  verse.  The  satire 
of  the  day  shows  moral  as  well  as  literary  qualities 
of  a  high  order.  There  are,  as  one  might  expect, 
developments  in  the  state  of  politics  and  literature, 
which  give  us,  so  to  speak,  the  suitable  habitat 
wherein  this  great  excellence  might  flourish,  if 
they  do  not  account  for  its  appearance. 

In  politics  we  have  the  first  stages  in  the 
growth  of  persistent  self-conscious  parties  on  secu- 
lar grounds.  Cavaliers  and  Roundheads  never  quite 
considered  themselves  such.  In  their  religious 
capacity  they  belonged  to  one  of  the  many  opinions 
then  prevalent,  and  religious  truth,  they  said,  was 
one  ;  as  secular  statesmen  they  divided  themselves 
into  good  men  and  true,  and  malignants,  traitors, 
scoundrels  and  so  forth.  No  doubt,  party-feeling 
is  always  inclined  to  separate  the  sheep  from  the 
goats  in  this  way  ;  but  proscription  began  to  mean 


74     DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [ch. 

a  very  different  thing  after  the  Restoration.  This 
was  partly  due  to  the  way  in  which  Charles  IPs 
return  came  about.  Episcopalians  and  Presby- 
terians combined  to  go  back  to  the  status  of  1641 
before  the  Civil  War,  accepting  as  legal  all  that 
was  legally  done,  and  trying  to  resolder  tradition 
and  present  practice.  This  resolution,  which,  as 
much  as  one  event  can,  has  made  England  the  land 
of  precedent  and  slow  development,  had  two  further 
results  of  the  first  importance.  The  monarchy 
restored  was  not  that  of  the  Tudors,  but  that 
resulting  from  the  Acts  passed  by  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment and  accepted  by  Charles  I  in  1641 ;  and  as  the 
two  parties  united  to  restore  it,  there  could  not  but 
be  two  readings  of  the  constitution.  True,  political 
privilege  was  confined  to  Anglicans  by  the  Cavalier 
Parliament,  but,  what  with  conforming  and  laxity, 
the  quondam  Presbyterians  retained  their  footing 
in  public  life.  Each  side  might  be  anathematized 
by  its  rival,  but  it  could  not  be  expelled  from  all 
influence  on  the  government  as  in  past  times.  A 
weighty  Parliamentary  Opposition  became  a  per- 
manent factor  in  English  politics.  Nor  were  the 
combatants  silent  in  the  recess  of  Parliament :  in 
spite  of  a  stringent  press-law,  squibs,  satires,  pas- 
quinades, and  the  heavier  artillery  of  pamphlets 
kept  up  a  desultory  conflict.  There  were  men 
about  town,  there  were  merchants,  to  meet  in  the 
new  institution  of  coffee-houses  and  form  an  alert 
public  opinion  on  state-affairs,  which  had  been 


Ill]  FRENCH  INFLUENCE  75 

impossible  in  the  days  of  gild-festivities  and  slow> 
compact  national  feeling.  The  news-writers  and 
pamphleteers  spread  the  rumours  of  the  City 
among  the  country-squires  who  held  the  chief 
power  in  the  state.  In  consequence,  the  great 
satires  of  the  date  are  not  mere  illustrations,  they 
were  potent  causes  of  events ;  and  the  highest 
genius  was  willing  to  spend  itself  on  them. 

The  literary  environment  of  the  time  was  no  less 
favourable.  Charles  II  heralded  a  flood  of  French 
fashions,  and  among  them  the  imitation  of  the 
polished  French  style  of  writing,  just  about  to 
reach  its  zenith  under  the  Roi  Soleil.  For  some 
such  movement  English  literature  was  ready  ;  the 
gorgeous  and  rather  lawless  originality  of  the 
dramatic  era  had  been  written  out.  Englishmen 
were  not  the  full-blooded  race  they  had  been, 
freshly  awakened  to  their  new  world,  nor  was 
there  any  longer  the  single  audience  of  noble  and 
'prentice.  That  national  solidarity  had  vanished 
even  before  the  Civil  War.  So  too  the  schools  of 
far-fetched  "  wit "  were  dying  down  ;  their  agonized 
search  for  originality  had  too  often  found  obscure 
bathos.  Men  wanted  something  perspicuous  and 
correct,  to  which  they  could  subscribe  in  their 
sober  senses.  Imagination,  so  much  abused,  was 
at  a  certain  discount.  Now  French  literature  was 
admirably  adapted  to  be  a  model  for  purveyors  to 
the  new  taste,  and  that  especially  on  its  more  satiric 
side.    French  delicacy  and  finesse  and  that  douce 


76     DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [ch. 

middle-aged  charm  of  French  sentiment  are  hard  to 
come  at  in  the  English  tongue.  But  French  direct- 
ness and  point,  French  precision  in  art  and  thought 
could  be  imitated.  Thus  the  heroic  couplet,  our 
metre  nearest  to  the  French  alexandrine,  drives  out 
others,  and  itself  tends  to  become  still  more  than 
formerly  a  succession  of  epigrams  in  a  strictly 
regular  and  limited  scheme  of  melody.  Not  every- 
one can  enjoy  the  effect  of  this  metre,  so  used, 
on  most  subjects  for  poetry ;  but  for  satire,  what 
form  of  verse  could  be  better  than  such  a  succession 
of  vigorous  strokes  guided  by  sound  sense  ? 

The  movements  I  have  indicated  took  some  time 
for  their  completion,  especially  the  literary  one. 
For  the  first  twenty  years  of  Charles'  reign  we 
have  indeed  a  progressive  political  satire  ;  but  the 
influence  of  Cleveland  is  still  predominant,  and  the 
chief  satiric  authors  are  unmistakably  his  disciples, 
though  they  gradually  free  themselves  and  are  not 
servile  imitators  at  worst. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  Sir  William 
Davenant,  the  would-be  son  of  Shakespeare  (1606- 
68).  Like  most  other  poets  of  the  time,  he  offered 
a  gushing  series  of  panegyrics  to  the  restored 
King,  and  amid  his  praises  of  the  royal  policy  made 
an  attack  or  two  on  its  victims,  the  Sectaries 
and  nonconforming  Presbyterians.  The  latter  are 
pungent  enough  and  offer  us  a  smoother,  feebler 
Cleveland.    The  Sectaries,  he  says, 


Ill]  DAVENANT  AND  DENHAM  17 

...fashions  of  opinion  love  to  change, 
And  think  their  own  the  best  for  being  strange; 
Their  own,  if  it  were  lasting,  they  would  hate ; 
Yet  call  it  conscience  when  'tis  obstinate. 

A  greater  man  than  this  insipid  rhymer  was 
Sir  John  Denham  (1615-69),  who  in  his  poem  of 
Cooper's  Hill  introduced  pure  descriptive  poetry 
into  England.  In  that  poem,  as  in  the  fine  lines  on 
Strafford's  trial,  ^  he  is  the  disciple  of  Waller  and 
belongs  to  the  new  school  of  French  leanings ; 
but  in  his  post-Restoration  satires,  he  is  much  more 
under  the  influence  of  Cleveland.  -  Each  couplet 
contains  a  conceit,  rather  than  the.  polished,  anti- 
thetical epigram,  and  he  keeps  the  old  Jacobean 
tradition  that  satire  should  be  rugged — his  lines  in 
fact  are  halting. /The  chief  importance  of  his  verse 
is  to  show  when  the  new  country-party  lost  patience 
with  Charles  IFs  court  and  government.  Irritation 
at  the  persecuting  Acts  passed  by  the  majority,  the 
personal  unpopularity  of  Lord  Chancellor  Claren- 
don, both  for  enforcing  those  Acts  and  for  rigidly 
maintaining  the  Crown's  sphere  of  action  inde- 
pendent of  Parliament,  and  the  known  corruption 
of  the  royal  administration,  all  tended  to  make 
the  new  members  who  came  in  at  bye-elections 
hostile  to  the  ministers  and  court.  They  coalesced 
with  the  original  semi-presbyterian  minority  and 
became  more  and  more  formidable.  The  Court 
was  only  able  to  thwart  them  by  bribing  the 
original  members,  who  thus  gained  for  the  assem- 
bly the  name  of  the  Pension  Parliament. 


78     DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [ch. 

The  smouldering  indignation  broke  into  flame 
in  the  second  Dutch  war,  when  the  country  heard 
the  astounding  news  that  the  enemy  had  entered 
the  Medway  and  burnt  the  ships  of  war,  which  with 
a  curious  folly,  due  to  the  misappropriation  of 
funds,  were  left  unfitted  at  anchor.  While  the 
shame  was  fresh,  the  satirists  attacked  the  Court 
with  all  their  power.  A  handle  was  given  by  the 
panegyrics  on  some  earlier  and  none  too  complete 
victories  in  the  war.  Among  these  the  then  famous 
Waller  had  won  in  the  race  of  adulation,  and  it  was 
his  Instructions  to  a  Painter  which  were  now 
continued  by  the  Opposition  writers.  Denham 
first  had  the  happy  idea,  mingling  Waller's  with 
Cleveland's  style.  The  London  was  among  the  lost 
ships  :  the  City  had  burnt  the  year  before  : 

Next  let  the  flaming  London  come  in  view, 
Like  Nero's  Rome,  burnt  to  rebuild  it  new. 
What  lesser  sacrifice  than  this  was  meet 
To  offer  for  the  safety  of  the  fleet? 

This  was  stinging ;  but  Denham  went  on  to  a 
personal  attack  on  the  Duke  of  York.  He  had 
wrongs  to  avenge :  the  Duke  had  seduced  his  wife, 
and  it  was  said  that  the  jealous  Duchess  had 
poisoned  her.  But  he  did  not  spare  lesser  captains 
either.     The  Duchess 

...therefore  the  Duke's  person  recommends 
To  Brunker,  Pen  and  Coventry,  her  friends, 
To  Pen  much,  Brunker  more,  most  Coventry; 
For  they,  she  knew,  were  more  afraid  than  he. 
Of  flying  fishes  one  had  saved  the  fin. 
And  hoped  by  this  he  thro'  the  air  might  spin: 


Ill]  MARVELL  79 

The  other  thought  he  might  avoid  the  knell 
By  the  invention  of  the  diving-bell; 
A  third  had  tried  it,  and  affirm'd  a  cable 
Coil'd  round  about  him  was  impenetrable. 
But  these  the  Duke  rejected,  only  chose 
To  keep  far  off;  let  others  interpose. 

The  lines  are  not  very  good ;  yet  they  are  among  the 
best  in  the  poem,  and  Denham's  further  attempts 
were  much  poorer.  A  second  and  third  continua- 
tion owe  what  merit  they  have  to  the  excellent 
opportunity  for  satire  presented  by  the  Court. 
He  also  gave  the  cue  to  a  gi^eater  man,  Andrew 
Marvell  (1621-78). 

The  charm  of  that  friend  of  Milton  in  his  ^ 
serious  poems  is  so  great  that  we  turn  with  reluc- 
tance from  their  "witty  delicacy"  to  the  coarse 
hurly-burly  of  his  satires.  How  could  the  same 
man,  we  wonder,  have  written  both  ?  Was  he  of  a 
chameleon  nature  to  change  his  style,  which  is 
perhaps  the  most  inward  quality  of  a  poet,  with 
his  environment?  The  man,  however,  shows  the 
same  dual  character,  accused  as  he  was  of  seaman's  ^' 
language,  and  undoubtedly  tutor  to  Lord  Fairfax's 
daugh'ter.  He  never  varied  in  political  consistency ; 
but  that  consistency  was  of  a  peculiarly  English  type. 
Little  attached  to  the  theoretical  political  opinions 
of  the  kind  that  found  favour  with  the  Levellers 
and  Divine-Right  men,  he  was  willing  to  work  with 
any  Protestant  government  that  was  honest  and 
efficient  and  not  too  tyrannical,  j  No  enemy  of 
Charles  I,  he  made  no  difficulty  at  taking  service 
under  Cromwell,   and    afterwards    promoted  the 


80      DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [CH. 

Restoration.  It  speaks  ill  for  Charles  II's  Court 
and  government  that  Marvell  gradually  came  into 
permanent  opposition.  It  can  only  have  been  a 
conviction  that  they  were  injuring  the  country. 
He  could  have  had  place  and  pension  for  his  vote 
any  day. 

We  have  then  in  criticising  Marvell's  satires  to 
remember  two  things.     As  an  artist,  he  followed  ^vc 
in  Cleveland's  footsteps,  adopting  a  rough,  abusive      ^ 
style,  where  the  strain  after  effect  forms  the  only 
link  with  the  conceits  of  his  lyric  verse.    As  a/^ 
politician,  his  business  was  to  rouse  public  indig-^^ 
nation  against  a  shameless  Court ;  and  this  was  not 
to  be  done  by  delicate  reserve.    At  the  same  time 
it  must  be  admitted  that  he  goes  out  of  his  way  for 
obscene  ridicule. 

His  earliest  political  satire,  however,  is  of  older 

date  than  the   Restoration.      The   Character  of 

Holland,  written  during  the  first  Dutch  war  of 

1653,  is  redolent  of  Cleveland's  manner.     It  is  a 

second  edition  of  The  Rebel  Scot,  turned  with 

more  rollicking  humour  and  less  real  bitterness 

against  a  completely  foreign  foe ;    and  like  its 

predecessor  looks  back  somewhat  to  the  attacks 

on  Scot  and  Frenchman  under  the  Edwards.     He 

describes  the  origin  of  Holland  by  the  toil  of  its 

inhabitants  excellently  well. 

Glad  then  as  miners  that  have  found  the  ore, 
They  with  mad  labour  fish'd  the  land  to  shore, 
And  dived  as  desperately  for  each  piece 
Of  earth,  as  if  't  had  been  of  ambergris, 


Ill]  MARVELL  81 

Collecting  anxiously  small  loads  of  clay, 
Less  than  what  building  swallows  bear  awky, 
Or  than  those  pills  which  sordid  beetles  roll, 
Transfusing  into  them  their  dunghill  soul. 

This  burlesque  has  all  the  vigour  of  fine  narrative, 

and  therein,  I  think,  surpasses  Cleveland's.    He 

goes  on  with  more  Dutch  history,  not  quite  so 

successfully  perhaps,  as  the  attack  is  more  directly 

abusive,  and  not  so  much  a  ludicrous  picture. 

Therefore  necessity,  that  first  made  kings. 
Something  like  government  among  them  brings; 
For,  as  with  pygmies  who  best  kills  the  crane, 
Among  the  hungry  he  that  treasures  grain, 
Among  the  blind  the  one-eyed  blinkard  reigns. 
So  rules  among  the  drowned  he  that  drains. 
Not,  who  first  sees  the  rising  sun,  commands. 
But  who  could  first  discern  the  rising  lands ; 
Who  best  could  know  to  pump  an  earth  so  leak. 
Him  they  their  Lord  and  Country's  Father  speak; 
To  make  a  bank  was  a  great  plot  of  state; 
Invent  a  shovel,  and  be  a  magistrate. 

Of  course  these  lines  are  accompanied  by  many 
poorer :  but  such  must  be  in  every  poem,  and,  if 
the  majority  have  not  all  the  pith  of  Cleveland's, 
they  surpass  his  in  geniality  and  flow  of  verse. 

Marvell's  next  elaborate  satire  was  suggested 
by  Denham's  assault  on  the  Government  in  1667. 
Marvell,  too,  with  a  far  more  powerful  pen,  lays 
bare  the  corruption  of  the  Court.  Scandals,  some 
lies,  some  all  too  true,  are  told  with  a  fierce 
humour  in  language  of  the  coarsest.  They  are  not 
interesting  enough  to  quote,  but  the  details  that 
disgust  us  added  force  to  the  indictment  then.  "  Too 
sharp,"says  Pepys  of  this  or  one  of  Denham's  attacks, 
"  and  so  true."    As  to  style,  Cleveland's  invective 

o.  6 


82    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [CH. 

is  modified  more  and  more  into  wrathful  narrative, 
the  secret  history  of  the  day  being  brutally  declared. 
Now  and  then  there  is  a  more  pleasant  humour 
recalling  The  Character  of  Holland.  The  best 
specimen  is  the  description  of  the  way  a  scapegoat 
was  found  by  the  Court-party  for  the  disasters  of 
the  war.    Sound  sense  is  hid  in  the  burlesque. 

After  this  loss,  to  relish  discontent, 

Some  one  must  be  accused  by  Parliament. 

All  our  miscarriages  on  Pett  must  fall; 

His  name  alone  seems  fit  to  answer  all. 

Whose  counsels  first  did  this  mad  war  beget? 

Who  all  commands  sold  through  the  navy  ?    Pett. 

Who  would  not  follow  when  the  Dutch  were  beat? 

Who  treated  out  the  time  at  Bergen?    Pett. 

Who  the  Dutch  fleet  with  storms  disabled  met? 

And,  rifling  prizes,  them  neglected?    Pett. 

Who  with  false  news  prevented  the  Gazette? 

The  fleet  divided  ?    Writ  for  Rupert  ?    Pett. 

Who  all  our  seamen  cheated  of  their  debt? 

And  all  our  prizes,  who  did  swallow?    Pett. 

Who  did  advise  no  navy  out  to  set  ? 

And  who  the  forts  left  unprepared?    Pett. 

Who  to  supply  with  powder  did  forget 

Languard,  Sheerness,  Gravesend,  and  Upnor?    Pett. 

Who  all  our  ships  exposed  in  Chatham  net? 

Who  should  it  be  but  the  fanatic  Pett? 

Pett,  the  sea-architect,  in  making  ships. 

Was  the  first  cause  of  all  these  naval  slips; 

Had  he  not  built,  none  of  these  faults  had  been ; 

If  no  creation,  there  had  been  no  sin ; 

But  his  great  crime,  one  boat  away  he  sent, 

That  lost  our  fleet  and  did  our  flight  prevent. 

There  could  not  be  a  better  climax  to  the  mock- 
reasoning.  But  Marvell  never  tried  to  make  the 
whole  piece  a  work  of  art.  His  satire  rambles 
with  events,  nor  is  his  wit  by  itself,  good  though  it 
be,  sufficient  to  plead  against  oblivion. 

As  noted  above,  Marvell  was  the  best  ballad- 


Ill]  MARVELL  83 

writer  of  his  day,  and  indeed  his  short  satiric 
pieces  have  much  to  recommend  them.  A  short 
epigram  on  Colonel  Blood,  written  in  Cleveland's 
manner,  need  only  be  mentioned ;  but  the  ballad 
on  the  Statue  in  Stock's  Market  (1672)  deserves 
quotation.  This  effigy  of  Charles  II  stood  long 
draped,  before  it  was  altered  from  Sobieski(!)  who 
was  originally  represented.     Mar  veil  jibes — 

But  Sir  Robert^  affirms  that  we  do  him  much  wrong; 
Tis  the  'graver  at  work,  to  reform  him,  so  long; 
But,  alas!  he  will  never  arrive  at  his  end, 
For  it  is  such  a  king  as  no  chisel  can  mend. 

But  with  all  his  errors  restore  us  our  King, 

If  ever  you  hope  in  December  for  Spring; 

For  tho'  all  the  world  cannot  show  such  another. 

Yet  we'd  rather  have  him  than  his  bigoted  brother. 

James  had  become  a  Roman  Catholic  by  this  time  : 
and  Charles  evidently  agreed  with  the  satirist. 
"  No  one,"  he  replied  to  his  brother's  warnings  of 
assassination,  "  will  ever  kill  me  to  make  you  king." 

Taking  leave  of  Mar  veil,  one  cannot  but  think 
that  he  could  have  been  a  greater  satirist  than  he 
was.  He  had  wit  and  humour,  energy,  conviction 
and  power  of  argument.  He  could  wield  both 
rapier  and  quarter-staff.  But  he  chose  to  be  a 
pamphleteer  in  verse,  and  probably  for  his  ends  he 
knew  his  business  best.  He  helped  to  create  the 
^  Parliamentary  Opposition,  and  we  may  gladly 
dispense  with  the  crude  laurels  of  satire  for  the 
author  of  The  Garden  and  Bermudas. 

So  far  we  have  traced  Cleveland's  spiritual 

1  Donor  of  the  statue. 

6—2 


f. 


84    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [CH. 

descendants  among  the  opposition.  The  greatest 
of  them,  however,  was  a  champion  of  the  Court, 
but  a  champion,  perhaps,  not  fashioned  after  its 
desire.  Samuel  Butler  (1612-81)  was  a  man  of 
the  elder  generation,  a  friend  of  Cleveland,  a 
contemporary  of  Milton.  He  passed  the  prime  of 
his  life  during  the  Civil  War  and  Commonwealth. 
The  Restoration  found  him  ripe  and  middle-aged, 
and  his  famous  Hudibras  was  partly  composed  of 
the  jottings  of  earlier  years.  Hence  we  do  not  so 
much  find  in  him  the  tendencies  of  the  new  school. 
French  ease  and  classical  simplicity  are  strange  to 
him.  What  we  do  find  is  the  old,  loaded  English 
style,  with  its  conceits  and  superabundant  learning 
of  the  schools,  disturbed  from  its  fanciful  leisure 
by  the  Civil  Wars  and  Puritan  tyranny,  and  em- 
ployed by  a  seldom  poetic  student  whose  wit 
amounted  to  genius.  The  nature  of  Hudibras 
partly  accounts  for  the  miserable  failure  of  all 
attempts  to  imitate  it.  All  the  excellence  of  its 
form  and  manner  was  old  and  belonged  to  an  age 
that  was  passing  away.  Its  learning  is  the  scho- 
lasticism of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  its  wit  reminds  us  of 
Golias ;  its  jogging  metre  of  a  twelfth-century 
romance.  In  it  the  decrepit  Past,  its  beauty 
withered,  rises  to  perform  an  antic  dance  for  our 
benefit,  and  leaves  us  with  an  odour  of  mortality. 

Here  are  san^s,  ignoble  things, 
Drojit  from  the  ruin'd  sides  of  kings. 

The  pageant  of  the  centuries  has  doffed  its  cloth 


Ill]  BUTLER  85 

of  gold,  and  turns  to  a  squalid  harlequinade. 
Its  spectral  enthusiasms  travesty  their  former 
pomp.  The  casket  of  its  secrets  is  opened  to 
disclose  a  little  dust. 

It  was  no  accident,  therefore,  which  made 
Butler  choose  Cervantes  as  his  model.  There  was 
a  strong  bond  of  kinship  in  their  themes.  Both 
satirized,  with  a  certain  sympathy  for  them,  the 
superannuated  fashions  of  former  days,  both  some 
of  contemporary  follies  ;  and  both  were  led  into  a 
vein  of  musing  upon  life  and  its  fortunes  which 
does  not  lose  its  application  with  the  course  of 
time.  But  there  the  resemblance  ends.  Cervantes 
had  an  innate  kindness  for  humanity :  the  chief 
actors  in  his  romance  are  living  and  loveable 
personalities ;  the  satire  and  the  humour  with 
which  fact  and  fancy  collide  are  almost  a  protest 
against  Fate.  But  the  Englishman  is  before  all 
things  a  scholar,  filled  with  annoyance  at  the  reign 
of  the  fantastic  busybodies  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Hence  his  characters  are  paltry  stalking  horses : 
Hudibras  leaves  us  without  a  glint  of  information 
on  the  Sir  Samuel  Luke  he  aped ;  Ralpho  is  a 
phantom  sectary.  Their  adventures  are  tediousness 
itself.  It  is  what  they  say,  and  Butler  says  in 
person,  that  interests  us.  It  is,  to  use  Matthew 
Arnold's  phrase,  a  criticism  of  life,  past,  present 
and  to  come,  couched  in  unfading  wit. 

Unimportant  as  it  is,  the  plot  of  the  poem  may 
be  briefly  explained.     Hudibras  is  a  Presbyterian 


86    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [CH. 

knight,  who  under  the  Commonwealth  sallies  out 
to  reform  the  neighbourhood  of  its  pleasant  vices, 
attended  by  his  squire  Ralpho,  a  representative 
of  the  sectaries.  The  Pilritans,  we  remember,  had 
acquired  a  very  unenviable  reputation  as  foes  of 
merry-making.  His  first  exploit  is  to  disperse  a 
crowd  intent  on  bear-baiting ;  but  fortune  soon 
deserts  him,  and  the  rallied  mob  are  victorious 
and  place  Knight  and  Squire  in  the  stocks.  Hence 
they  are  rescued  by  a  widow,  to  whom  or  rather 
to  whose  jointure,!^  Kniglit  jjiakes  his  addresses. 
The  condition  of  his  release""  is  that  he  should 
scourge  himself,  which  of  course  he  fails  to  do. 
They  next  get  worsted  by  a  crowd  who  are  carting 
a  truculent  female ;  then  quarrel  with  the  astro- 
loger, Sidrophel,  whom  they  consult.  Such  are  the 
contents  of  the  first  two  parts  of  1662  and  1664. 
The  third  which  appeared  in  1678  is  occupied  with 
a  goblin-masquerade  to  which  they  are  treated  by 
the  indignant  widow,  followed  by  an  account  of  the 
fall  of  the  Rump  in  1660  and  a  legal  scheme  of  the 
Knight  to  get  the  better  of  his  lady-love. 

It  will  be  seen  what  a  miserable  story  this  is. 
Its  ineptitude  needs  all  Butler's  wit  to  redeem  it ; 
and  even  that  would  not  suffice  if  it  dealt  only  with 
Puritan  eccentricities.  But  its  scope  is  universal, 
as  its  nature  is  most  varied.  He  has  more  than 
the  rapid  play  and  learning  of  his  master  Cleveland. 
Unsuspected  resemblances  are  revealed  by  the  odd 
juxtaposition  of  ideas.     The  doggerel  verse  is  used 


Ill]  BUTLER  87 

to  increase  the  ridicule,  and  extraordinary  rhymes 
are  employed,  not  for  their  ease,  but  to  add  to  the 
surprise  of  the  wit.  And  all  through  there  runs  a 
vein  of  unambitious,  disillusioned  wisdom,  without 
which  all  the  glitter  of  his  quips  and  cranks  would 
soon  have  palled.  To  us,  the  most  living  part  is  of 
course  the  satire  of  oddities  not  confined  to  Butler's 
time,  like  that  on  Hudibras'  language  : 

For  rhetoric,  he  could  not  ope  ' 

His  mouth,  but  out  there  flew  a  trope; 

And  when  he  happened  to  break  off 

I'  th'  middle  of  his  speech,  or  cough, 

H'  had  hard  words  ready  to  show  w^hy, 

And  tell  what  rules  he  aid  it  by; 

Else,  when  with  greatest  art  he  spoke, 

You 'Id  think  he  talk'd  like  other  folk; 

For  all  a  rhetorician's  rules  .^ 

Teach  nothing  but  to  name  his  tools. 

His  ordinary  rate  of  speech, 

In  loftiness  of  sound,  was  rich; 

A  Babylonish  dialect, 

Which  learned  pedants  much  aflfect; 

It  was  a   party-colour'd  dress 

Of  patch'd  and  piebald  languages; 

'Twas  English  cut  on  Greek  and  Latin, 

Like  fustian  heretofore  on  satin; 

It  had  an  odd  promiscuous  tone. 

As  if  h'  had  talk'd  three  parts  in  one. 

Which  made  some  think,  when  he  did  gabble, 

Th'  had  heard  three  labourers  of  Babel, 

Or  Cerberus  himself  pronounce 

A  leash  of  languages  at  once.  i.  1.  81-104. 

Nevertheless,  some  strictly  contemporary  satire 
is  almost  more  brilliant,  as  that  on  the  two  Puritan 
types  of  religion.     Hudibras'  comes  first : 

For  his  religion,  it  was  fit 
To  match  his  learning  and  his  wit: 
'Twas  Presbyterian  true-blue; 
For  he  was  of  that  stubborn  crew 


88    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [ch. 

Of  errant  saints,  whom  all  men  grant 

To  be  the  true  Church  Militant ; 

Such  as  do  build  their  faith  upon 

The  holy  text  of  pike  and  gun; 

Decide  all  controversies  by 

Infallible  artillery ; 

And  prove  their  doctrine  orthodox 

By  Apostolic  blows  and  knocks; 

Call  fire  and  sword  and  desolation 

A  godly,  thorough  Reformation, 

Which  always  must  be  carried  on. 

And  still  be  doing,  never  done; 

As  if  Religion  were  intended 

For  nothing  else  but  to  be  mended: 

A  sect  whose  chief  devotion  lies 

In  odd  perverse  antipathies; 

In  falling  out  with  that  or  this 

And  finding  somewhat  still  amiss; 

More  peevish,  cross,  and  splenetic. 

Than  dog  distract  or  Qionkey  sick ; 

That  with  more  care  keep  holy  day 

The  wrong,  than  others  the  right  way; 

Compound  for  sins  they  are  inclined  to, 

By  damning  those  they  have  no  mind  to ; 

Still  so  perverse  and  opposite, 

As  if  they  worshipp'd  God  for  spite: 

The  self-same  thing  they  will  abhor 

One  way,  and  long  another  for: 

Free  will  they  one  way  disavow. 

Another,  nothing  else  allow: 

All  piety  consists  therein 

In  them,  in  other  men  all  sin: 

Rather  than  fail,  they  will  defy 

That  which  they  love  most  tenderly ; 

Quarrel  with  mince-pies,  and  disparage 

Their  best  and  dearest  friend,  plum-porridge; 

Fat  pig  and  goose  itself  oppose, 

And  blaspheme  custard  through  the  nose. 

Th'  apostles  of  this  fierce  religion, 

Like  Mahomet's,  were  ass  and  widgeon, 

To  whom  our  Knight,  by  fast  instinct 

Of  wit  and  temper,  was  so  link'd. 

As  if  hypocrisy  and  nonsense 

Had  got  the  advowson  of  his  conscience.  1. 1. 189-236. 

This  passage  deserves  its  fame,  come  down  from 
the  time  when  the  "crowning  mercy"  of  Worcester 


Ill]  BUTLER  89 

was  still  fresh  in  men's  recollections.  But  the 
same  sustained  raillery  is  frequent  throughout, 
and  the  difficulty  is  to  select  one  instance  more 
than  another.    Ralph's  "  new  light "  is  just  as  good. 

For  as  of  vagabonds  we  say, 

That  they  are  ne'er  beside  their  way, 

Whate'er  men  speak  by  this  new  light, 

Still  they  are  sure  to  be  i'  th'  right. 

'Tis  a  dark  lantern  of  the  spirit. 

Which  none  see  by  but  those  who  bear  it.  i.  1.  501-6. 

Nor  is  the  dialectic  of  Knight  and  Squire  less 
instinct  with  mockery.  Butler  himself  must  have 
liked  to  chop  logic  :  he  argues  for  them  with  such 
zest.  And  though  their  characters  as  men  are  the" 
vaguest  caricatures,  their  characters  as  disputants 
are  always  maintained.  Much  of  their  discourse 
lies  outside  political  satire.  Religion,  love  and 
marriage,  poetry  and  philosophy,  astrology  and 
science,  all  come  in  for  their  share ;  and  seldom 
do  the  verses  fail.  Butler's  witticisms  do  not  need, 
like  Cleveland's,  to  be  read  en  masse.  His  single 
sayings  will  stand  by  themselves  ;  like  those  de- 
scriptions of  the 

petulant,  capricious  sects, 
The  maggots  of  corrupted  texts,  in.  2.  9-10. 

or  the  Leveller  who 

made  the  stoutest  yield  to  mercy, 
When  he  engaged  in  controversy; 
Not  by  the  force  of  carnal  reason. 
But  indefatigable  teasing.  in.  2.  449-52. 

Sometimes  he  spreads  out  his  matter  ;  as  in — 

The  oyster- women  lock'd  their  fish  up. 
And  trudged  away  to  cry  No  Bishop; 


90    DEVELOPMENT  OF  PARTY-SATIRE  [CH. 

The  mouse-trap  men  laid  save-alls  by, 
And  'gainst  Evil  Counsellors  did  cry; 
Botchers  left  old  clothes  in  the  lurch, 
And  fell  to  turn  and  patch  the  Church; 
Some  cried  the  Covenant  instead 
Of  pudding-pies  and  gingerbread ; 


A  strange,  harmonious  inclination 

Of  all  degrees  to  Reformation.  i.  2.  539-54. 

This  is  comic  more  than  witty,  but  sometimes  he 
combines  the  two  effects,  as  in  the  following 
passage,  the  last  there  is  space  to  quote,  on  the 
Roundhead  confiscations  and  taxes.     The  Puritans 

Could  transubstantiate,  metamorphose, 

And  charm  whole  herds  of  beasts,  like  Orpheus; 

Enchant  the  King's  and  Church's  lands, 

T'  obey  and  follow  "their"  commands. 

And  settle  on  a  new  freehold. 

As  Marcly-hill  had  done  of  old: 

Could  turn  the  Cov'nant  and  translate 

The  Gospel  into  spoons  and  plate; 

Expound  upon  all  merchants'  cashes. 

And  open  th'  intricatest  places ; 

Could  catechise  a  money-box, 

And  prove  all  pouches  orthodox; 

Until  the  Cause  became  a  Damon, 

And  Pytheas  the  wicked  Mammon.        iii.  2.  1123-36. 

The  brilliance  of  Hudibras  speaks  for  itself  ; 
it  is  perhaps  the  wittiest  book  ever  written  in 
English.  Of  its  defects  some  have  been  mentioned 
already.  The  utter  lack  of  coherence,  of  character 
and  of  proportion,  make  it  hardly  a  work  of  art : 
we  read  it  as  we  should  a  jest-book,  and  perpetual 
disconnected  wit  becomes  tedious.  Butler's  learn- 
ing and  abundance  also  were  pitfalls  to  him :  he 
becomes  obscure  itnd  heaps  conceit  upon  conceit. 
i  Though  his  style  is  pithy,  he  becomes  too  lengthy 

U- 


Ill]  BUTLER  91 

through  a  plethora  of  ideas  ^  Besides  this,  a  Devil's 
advocate  might  say  that  his  was  an  ungrateful 
office — to  render  old  romance  and  lofty  aims 
in  a  sordid  dress.  But  he  makes  amends  by  his 
extraordinary  wit,  by  force  of  which  he  became 
original,  although  he  was  not  absolutely  the  first 
in  his  style  or  Hudibrastic  metre.  His  wit,  too,  has  | 
the  saving  quality  of  underlying  good  sense  :  it 
is  fantastic  in  appearance  only.  Thus  it  can  still 
reach  posterity,  while  the  unreal  gibe  perishes.^ 
Herein  it  was  aided  by  its  wide  range.  Butler 
could  not  confine  himself  to  mere  party-verse  ; 
and  he  has  been  rewarded  for  his  breadth  of 
interest  by  becoming  a  classic  of  the  older  English 
literature,  even  though  he  is  something  like  a 
Court-Jester  bringing  up  the  rear  and  mocking 
the  solemnities  of  a  procession. 


^  Hume. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   SATIRIC   AGE 

The  first  eighteen  years  of  Charles  IPs  reign 
saw  a  gradually  increasing  discontent ;  but  the 
subjects  of  complaint  were  not  yet  unified.  There 
was  mismanagement,  there  was  corruption,  there 
were  absolutist  and  papistical  tendencies  ;  but 
Charles  adroitly  tided  over  the  moments  of  ex- 
ceptional strain,  although  at  the  cost  of  some 
concessions  even  to  the  Pension  Parliament.  But 
a  widespread  anger  was  rising  in  the  nation,  and 
these  partial  irritations  were  precipitated  into  a 
wholesale  indignation  by  the  fable  of  the  Popish 
Plot.  The  people  had  been  worked  up  into  a 
justifiable  state  of  chronic  suspicion  by  the  half- 
known  events  of  the  reign.  There  was  an  ob- 
vious movement  in  France,  coupled  with  obscure 
intrigues  in  England,  to  enforce  a  universal 
Catholicism.  So  it  is  little  wonder  that  an  in- 
ventive knave  was  found  to  make  his  profit  out 
of  the  public  credulity.  Out  of  this  gruesome 
episode,  with  its  sordid  villainy,   the  two  great 


v]  OLDHAM  93 

English  parties  sprang.  The  fear  of  Popery  was 
bound  to  lead  to  an  attempt  to  exclude  the  Duke 
of  York,  an  avowed  Papist,  from  the  succession 
to  his  brother.  The  Country-party  took  up  the 
question  with  a  will ;  the  Court  and  Church  and 
the  warmer  loyalists  resisted.  Whig  and  Tory,  in 
fact,  if  not  in  name,  had  appeared  ;  and  the  future 
Whigs  had  obtained  a  leader  of  political  genius  in 
the  person  of  the  ex-Roundhead,  ex-Cabal-minister, 
Shaftesbury. 

One  of  the  first  necessities  for  the  Country- 
party  was  to  work  up  popular  feeling  against  the 
Roman  Catholics,  and  an  instrument  to  this  end 
was  found  in  John  Oldham  (1654-83)  with  his 
Satires  against  the  Jesuits.  Oldham,  like  some 
other  devout  men,  was  a  converted  rake  ;  and,  still 
young,  retained  in  virtue,  perhaps,  the  reckless 
heat  of  temperament  which  had  led  him  into  vice. 
Was  he  a  poet  ?  It  is  hard  to  say  ;  he  died  quite 
young,  only  four  years  after  his  Satires  were 
published.  The  latter  have  great  merits  of  de- 
clamation and  studied  rhetoric.  They  are  the 
works  of  a  scholar  and  a  man  of  pronounced 
talent,  but  ^fter  all  they  do  not  show  any  specially 
poetical  qualities.  His  ear  for  verse  was  poor, 
and  in  his  satires  there  is  a  remarkable  absence 
of  any  free  play  of  the  imagination.  Heavy  melo- 
drama is  all  he  can  show,  which  does  not  give 
much  promise  for  the  future,  in  spite  of  Dryden's 
praise.     His    love-poems    are    luscious,    but    not 


94  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [CH. 

sweet.  There  is  nothing  like  the  charm  of  so 
many  Restoration  lyrics  in  them. 
—  But  as  a  satirist  he  was  original.  He  introduced 
into  English  the  sustained  general  denunciation  of 
the  Latin  satirists  \  He  does  not  give  rapid  taunts 
or  lists  of  misdeeds  like  his  predecessors :  as 
he  says  of  Charles  IX,  he  "scorns  retail."  And 
his  generalized  vituperation  is  effective  too.  In- 
credible blood  and  thunder  fill  the  scene  ;  but 
they  at  least  make  a  real  clamour  and  smell  raw. 
He  is  not  following  a  fashion  in  invective.  One 
is  inclined  to  think  him  a  genuine  fanatic  ;  his 
indignation  is  real.  He  conceives  of  the  Jesuits 
as  the  dread  antitheses  of  good.  There,  however, 
his  merits  end.  He  had  no  sense  of  irony  or 
dramatic  fitness.  Hence  he  places  his  objurgations 
in  Jesuit  mouths,  with  an  extraordinary  mixture 
of  triumphant,  conscious  wickedness  and  bigotry. 
The  Jesuit  Garnet's  Ghost  gloats  over  murder 
as  "Hell's  most  proud  exploit,"  and  exhorts  his 
successors  to 

have  only  will 
Like  Hell  and  me,  to  covet  and  act  ill. 

Yet  these  conscious  fiends  are  somehow  occupied 
in  fighting  "heretics"  and  saving  the  Church. 
The  muddle  is  inextricable,  as  the  sentiments  are 
worthy  of  Hieronimo. 

What  redeems  his  defects  is  the  fine  energy 
of  exaggeration,  which  exalts  a  passage  like  the 

1  Prof.  Courthope. 


IV]  OLDHAM  95 

following  on  Charles  IX  and  St  Bartholomew's 
day. 

He  scorn'd  like  common  murderers  to  deal 

By  parcels  and  piecemeal;  he  scorn'd  retail 

In  the  trade  of  death;  whole  myriads  died  by  the  great, 

Soon  as  one  single  life;  so  quick  their  fate, 

Their  very  prayers  and  wishes  came  too  late. 

The  last  lines  make  us  forgive  much  bad  verse  and 
bad  rhyme.  So,  too,  when  in  his  own  person  he 
attacks  the  Jesuit  principle  of  "doing  ill  that  good 
may  come,"  his  exaggerations  throw  a  lurid  light 
on  the  real  meaning  of  the  decorous  phrase. 

And  yet  'twere  well,  were  their  foul  guilt  but  thought 

Base  sin;  'tis  something  even  to  own  a  fault. 

But  here  the  boldest  flights  of  wickedness 

Are  stamped  religion,  and  for  current  pass. 

The  blackest,  ugliest,  horridest,  damnedst  deed. 

For  which  hell  flames,  the  schools  a  title  need, 

If  done  for  Holy  Church  is  sanctified. 

This  consecrates  the  blessed  work  and  tool, 

Nor  must  we  ever  after  think  'em  foul. 

To  undo  realms,  kill  peasants,  murder  kings. 

Are  thus  but  petty  trifles,  venial  things. 

Not  worth  a  confessor;  nay,  Heaven  shall  be 

Itself  invoked  to  abet  the  impiety. 

As  may  be  seen  here,  Oldham  was  a  master  of  the 
art  of  leading  up  to  a  climax.  It  was  more  delicate 
powers  that  he  lacked.  In  consequence,  to  pile  up 
the  agony  was  his  only  means  for  effect.  The 
economy  of  true  art  was  impossible  for  him. 
Nevertheless,  he  begins  a  line  of  denunciatory 
satirists,  who  like  him  generalize  their  pictures 
and  charge  the  shadows  in  them,  while  they  try  to 
avoid  his  artistic  faults,  and  fail  to  attain  his 
vigour. 


96  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

Very  diflPerent  from  this  Protestant  flail  was 
the  next  writer  to  appear  upon  the  scene.  The 
storm  raised  by  the  legend  of  the  Popish  Plot  was 
quick  to  die  down,  but  not  so  the  ground-swell  of 
the  agitation  for  the  Exclusion  Bill.  Shaftesbury 
organized  his  party  in  the  country  and  Parliament, 
and  nearly  succeeded  in  forcing  the  King's  hand. 
Three  new  Parliaments  were  elected  in  succession, 
and  each  of  them  was  hostile  to  James.  But 
Charles  was  an  adept  at  reading  the  signs  of  the 
times.  He  gave  his  opponents,  Whigs  as  ^  they 
were  now  definitely  styled',  rope  ;  waited  till  their 
violence  discredited  them  ;  waited  till  the  dread 
of  another  civil  war  could  have  its  full  effect ; 
waited  till  men  were  ashamed  of  the  cruel  panic 
of  the  Plot ;  waited  till  the  natural  loyalty  of  the 
nation  resented  the  ignominious  treatment  of  its 
royal  house.  Then  he  dissolved  his  last  Parliament 
in  1681  at  Oxford,  where  no  half-nonconformist 
city-mob  would  riot  for  Shaftesbury.  Still  even 
with  his  French  pension  and  with  the  possession 
of  the  administration,  he  was  only  just  able  to 
keep  down  the  Whigs.  It  was  necessary  to  attack 
their  influence  among  the  educated  classes  of  the 
towns,  and  for  this  purpose  Charles  had  the  happy 
thought  of  calling  on  his  laureate,  Dryden,  to 
satirize  the  Whigs  and  their  Exclusion  Bill. 

JDryden  (1631— 1700X  was  the  apostle  of  the 
new  school  of  poetry.  This  is  as  much  as  to  say 
that  he  was  the  poet  of  greatest  genius  among 


IV]  DRYDEN  97    / 

that  younger  generation  which  came  to  the  front 
under  Charles  11. /Waller  and  Denham  had  been 
the  precursors  of  the  movement.  Smoothness, 
accuracy  and  epigrammatic  point  were  the  things 
most  desired  ;  and,  as  already  mentioned,  contem- 
porary French  literature  supplied  the  models. 
Dryden  himself  in  the  prologue  to  an  early  play 
desiderates  "  a  mingled  chime  of  Jonson's  humour 
and  Corneille's  rhyme."  Jonson's  humour,  indeed, 
and  the  strong  imagination  of  the  earlier  poets 
vanished  quickly,  but  it  was  Dryden's  task  to 
build  up  in  their  stead,  out  of  the  heroic  couplets, 
a  lofty,  vigorous  verse,  full  of  poetic  fire,  yet 
possessing  the  best  qualities  of  prose,  in  which, 
too,  he  accomplished  a  somewhat  similar  revolu- 
tion. He  excelled  in  a  well-ordered,  perspicuous 
phrase  and  lucid  reasoning.  To  some  of  us 
imagination  and  charm,  with  the  power  to  reach 
the  deeper  springs  of  heart  and  mind,  will  not 
seem  gifts  of  his.  But  of  the  obvious  and  the 
matter-of-fact  he  was  an  undoubted  master  ;  and 
his  fine,  though  limited,  ear  for  verse  enabled  him 
to  attain  "the  long,  majestic  march  and  energy 
divine,"  for  which  Pope  praises  him. 

The  first  Tory  satire  that  Dryden  produced 
for  his  employers  was  the  famous  Absalom  and 
Achitophel.  During  the  agitation  over  the  Ex- 
clusion Bill,  Shaftesbury's  greatest  blunder  had 
been  the  production  of  the  King's  putative  son, 
the  Duke  of  Monmouth,   as  a  claimant  to  the 

o.  7 


98  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

succession.  There  was  talk  of  his  legitimacy,  but 
on  the  whole  the  scheme  appeared  in  its  true  light 
as  a  departure  from  law  and  precedent,  and  as  an 
injustice  to  James'  daughters,  who  were  undoubted 
Protestants.  On  this  weak  point  Dryden  launched 
his  attack,  describing  the  Whig  proceedings  under 
names  taken  from  Biblical  history.  The  device 
was  not  quite  original  with  him,  but  his  was  the 
whole  excellence  of  plan  and  execution.  He  raised 
/  satire  to  epic  dignity  \  In  spite  of  the  obligation 
to  follow  actual  events,  the  poem  is  a  work  of  art. 
The  lack  of  a  plot  is  skilfully  disguised  in  the 
orderly  movement  of  the  poem.  Arrangement 
takes  the  place  of  adventures.  Unnecessary  details 
and  day's  wonders  are  eliminated.  In  a  series  of 
-'  brilliant  character-sketches  the  leading  Whigs  are 
brought  on  the  scene  ;  the  seduction  of  Absalom 
(Monmouth)  by  Achitophel  (Shaftesbury)  is  de- 
scribed in  masterly  speeches,  followed  by  a  parody 
of  the  action  they  took.  Then  comes  a  series  of 
Tory  portraits  ;  and  we  are  deluded  into  thinking 
we  have  reached  a  finale  in  a  narrative  by  an 
improved  version  of  Charles'  speech  from  the 
throne  in  1681. 

The  character-sketches  are  the  chief  glory  of 
the  poem,  and,  hackneyed  though  they  be,  it  is 
necessary  to  quote  the  two  best,  since  they  are  the 
greatest  satiric  descriptions  in  English  literature. 
One  is  that  of  Shaftesbury : 

1  Prof.  Courthope. 


IV]  DRYDEN  99 

Of  these  the  false  Achitophel  was  first, 

A  name  to  all  succeeding  ages  curst: 

For  close  designs  and  crooked  counsels  fit, 

Sagacious,  bold  and  turbulent  of  wit, 

Restless,  unfix'd  in  principles  and  place. 

In  power  unpleased,  impatient  of* disgrace; 

A  fiery  soul,  which  working  out  its  way. 

Fretted  the  pigmy  body  to  decay 

And  o'er-inform'd  the  tenement- of  clay. 

A  daring  pilot  in  extremity. 

Pleased  with  the  danger  when  the  waves  went  high, 

He  sought  the  storms ;  but,  for  a  calm  unfit. 

Would  steer  too  nigh  the  sands  to  boast  his  wit. 

Great  wits  are  sur^  to  madness  near  allied 

And  thin  partitionsi  do  their  bounds  divide; 

Else,  why  should  h^  with  wealth  and  honours  blest, 

Refuse  his  age  the  needful  hours  of  rest  ? 

Punish  a  body  which  he  could  not  please. 

Bankrupt  of  life,  yet  prodigal  of  ease  ? 

Dryden  had  found  his  vocation,  though  so  late  ; 
he  never  wrote  better  poetry,  as  well  as  satire, 
than  these  famous  lines.  The  pathos  of  human 
fate  sounds  muffled  in  them  like  running  water 
behind  rock.  Those  on  Buckingham  are  also  a 
model  of  invective,  but,  if  their  wit  is  even  greater, 
their  poetic  quality  is  not  so  fine. 

In  the  first  rank  of  these  did  Zimri  stand, 

A  man  so  various  that  he  seem'd  tp  be 

Not  one,  but  all  mankind's  epitome: 

Stiff  in  opinions,  always  in  the  wrong. 

Was  everything  by  starts  and  nothing  long; 

But  in  the -course  of  one  revolving  moon 

Was  chymist,  fiddlej:,  statesman  and  buffoon; 

Then  all  for  women,  painting,  rhyming,  drinking. 

Besides  ten  thousand  freaks  that  died  in  thinking. 

Blest  madman,  who  could  every  hour  employ 

With  something  new  to  wish  or  to  enjoy ! 

Railing  and  praising  were  his  usual  themes. 

And  both,  to  show  his  judgment,  in  extremes : 

So  ove*  violent  or  over  civil 

That  every  man  with  him  was  God  or  Devil. 

7—2 


100  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

In  squandering  wealth  was  his  peculiar  art; 
Nothing  went  unrewarded  but  desert. 
Beggar'd  by  fools  whom  still  he  found  too  late, 
He  had  his  jest,  and  they  had  his  estate. 

Dry  den  justly  piqued  himself  on  the  finish  of  this 
passage  ;  it  would  have  been  so  easy  to  be  obscene 
or  bludgeonly  over  Buckingham. 

I  should  like  to  quote  more  examples  of 
Dryden's  sarcasms  and  humorous  invective,  such 
antithetic  epigrams,  for  instance,  as 

But  far  more  numerous  was  the  herd  of  such 

Who  think  too  little  and  who  talk  too  much, 

Ay 

but  I  must  confine  myself  to  his  libel  on  the 
English  people,  full  of  humorous  scorn  as  it  is. 

The  Jews,  a  headstrong,  moody,  murmuring  race. 
As  ever  tried  the  extent  and  stretch  of  grace; 
God's  pamper'd  people,  whom,  debauch'd  with  ease, 
No  king  could  govern,  nor  no  God  could  please; 
Gods  they  had  tried  of  every  shape  and  size 
That  godsmiths  could  produce  or  priests  devise; 

^  These  Adam-wits,  too  fortunately  free, 

/]/     n    Began  to  dream  they  wanted  hberty; 

/i^><5p  ^^^  when  no  rule,  no  precedent  was  found 
/jfJ^Oi  men  by  laws  less  circumscribed  and  bound, 
They  led  their  wild  desires  to  woods  and  caves 
And  thought  that  all  but  savages  were  slaves. 

Dryden  has  been  lauded  for  the  high  plane  of 
his  satire,  but  this  must  be  taken  with  some 
qualification.  He  was  but  a  hireling  after  all,  and 
praised  or  blamed  as  the  court-wind  blew.  We 
need  look  for  no  scruple  as  to  the  subject  or  object 
of  his  attacks,  save  a  certain  poetic  conscience, 
which  made  him  anxious  to  do  the  thing  as  well 
as  it  could  be  done.  Thus  his  flaws  of  taste  are 
far  fewer  than  those  of  his  predecessors,  and  there 


IV]  DRYDEN  101 

is  a  sort  of  aulic  decorum  in  his  compositions, 
befitting  the  king  of  his  fellow-writers.  Add  to 
this  a  masculine  good  sense  and  strength  of  mind, 
and  we  see  how  many  qualities,  but  also  what 
prosaic  ones  on  the  whole,  went  to  make  up  the 
classic  English  political  satire. 

Dryden  did  not  quit  the  field  after  one  victory. 
In  three  more  Whig  and  Tory  satires,  provoked  by 
attacks  upon  him,  he  renewed  the  fray,  two,  The 
Medal  and  MacFlecknoe^  being  solely  his  own,  a 
third,  the  Second  Part  of  Absalom  and  Achitophel, 
more  edited  than  written  by  him.  But  he  never 
equalled  his  first  satire  in  interest.  The  others 
are  less  pithy,  less  full,  and  concern  mostly  lesser 
men.  Not  that  they  lack  (so  far  as  they  are  his) 
the  fine  characteristics  of  his  verse  and  style,  but 
they  are  outshone  by  their  predecessor. 

New  events,  however,  made  him  take  a  new 
departure  in  his  argumentative  style.  James  II 
succeeded  to  the  throne  in  1685.  Catholicism 
became  the  road  to  court-favour,  and  Dryden, 
about  the  same  time  as  Nell  Gwynne,  was  converted 
to  the  sovran's  creed.  "No  great  loss  to  the 
Church,"  Bays  Evelyn,  and,  in  view  of  Dry  den's 
history  and  character,  it  is  impossible  to  give  him 
credit  for  exalted  motives.  Protestations  of  his 
cannot  count  for  much  :  nor  could  the  obloquy  he 
risked  by  timeserving  be  a  deterrent  to  the  veteran 
adulator.  Too  often  already  he  could  have  said 
with  Parolles,  "If  my  heart  were  great,  'twould 


a4< 


102  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

burst  at  this."  At  the  same  time,  the  Religio 
Laid,  his  defence  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
1682,  shows,  I  think,  that  Catholicism  would  come 
easily  to  him  ;  he  was  already  perplexed  by  the 
fact  that  the  original  text  of  the  Bible  was  not 
to  be  had  ;  and  those  were  the  days  of  literal 
inspiration  in  the  Protestant  churches. 

However    this    may  be,   he    lost    no  time  in 
putting  his  faculties  at  the  service  of  his  new 
faith.    For  it  he  wrote  the  semi-satiric  fable  of 
The  Hind  and  the  Panther,  published  in  1687* 
Unfortunately  the  royal  policy  suffered  a  change 
during  its  execution.     For  some  time  after  his 
accession  James  II  hoped  to  secure  legal  toleration, 
and  in  practice  much  more,  for  the  Catholics  from 
the  Church  and  Tory  party.      The   end    of  his 
brother's  reign  had  been  devoted  to  placing  the 
latter  in  power  in  the  corporations,  and  in  con- 
sequence James'  Parliament  was  enthusiastically 
loyal.     But  it  was  also  enthusiastically  Anglican, 
and  James  asked  the  one  thing  it  would  not  grant, 
the  repeal  of  the  Test  Acts.     The  baffled  King  fell 
back  on  those  stretches  of  the  Prerogative,  the 
dispensing  and  suspending  powers,  which  in  one 
form  or  another  had  always  been  in  use.    Like  a 
true  Stewart,  however,  he  gave  them  a  general 
application,  very  different  from  the  particular  use 
of  them  by  the  Tudors,   while  the    theories    of 
succession  by  Divine  Right  and  of  indefeasible 
Prerogative  made  it  really  impossible  to  come  to 


IV]  DRYDEN  103 

terms  with  him,  all  bargains  between  King  and 
subjects  being  invalid.  Still  James  looked  for 
allies  among  his  people,  and  hoped  to  find  them  in 
the  Nonconformists,  whom  he  therefore  set  about 
restoring  to  power  in  the  corporations.  What 
Dryden  thought  of  this  we  do  not  know,  unless  his 
dislike  of  Father  Petre  ("  The  Martin  ")  is  inspired 
by  dislike  for  the  policy  which  the  priest  supported. 
His  pliant  Muse,  at  first  gracious  to  the  Anglicans 
and  contemptuous  of  the  sects,  becomes  by  the  end 
of  the  poem  acerb  to  the  former,  and  is  dulcified 
by  an  apologetic  preface  towards  the  latter,  who 
were  to  profit  by  the  King's  Declaration  of  In- 
dulgence. 

The  Hind  and  the  Panther  (1687)  suffers,  too, 
by  the  absurd  artificiality  of  its  plot.  Lyndsay 
and  Spenser  had  used  the  animals  of  the  medieval 
beast-fable  for  types  of  persons,  to  whom  the 
attribution  of  human  learning  and  professions  only 
added  quaintness.  Dryden's  are  institutions,  the 
Hind  being  the  Roman,  the  Panther  the  Anglican 
Church  and  so  on  ;  and,  what  with  a  mixture  of 
history,  personification  and  theological  argument, 
there  results  a  hopeless  mingle-mangle  of  tropes, 
figures,  facts  and  allegories.  The  treatment  of  the 
details,  however,  shows  all  his  sober  colouring 
and  poetic  skill.  The  easy,  unembarrassed  verse 
shapes  itself  to  its  theme  ;  but  its  serious  parts 
are  after  all  too  open  to  ridicule  to  be  effective. 
It  is  when  Dryden  towards  the  end  diverges  into 


104  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

subsidiary  fables  in  his  satire  of  the  Church  of 
England,  that  he  rises  to  his  best.  The  clergy  and 
his  special  adversary,  Bishop  Burnet,  are  mocked 
with  a  light  sardonic  humour,  unequalled  in  English 
verse  elsewhere.  The  parsons,  it  should  be  said, 
are  represented  as  a  breed  of  amatory  pigeons,  the 
Catholic  priests,  not  quite  happily  from  the  celibate 
point  of  view,  as  domestic  poultry.  The  Doves 
are  indignant  at  their  rivals'  favour : 

And  much  they  grieved  to  see  so  nigh  their  hall 

The  bird  that  warn'd  St  Peter  of  his  fall; 

That  he  should  raise  his  mitred  crest  on  high, 

And  clap  his  wings  and  call  his  family 

To  sacred  rites;  and  vex  the  etherial  powers 

With  midnight  matins  at  uncivil  hours; 

Nay  more,  his  quiet  neighbours  should  molest, 

Just  in  the  sweetness  of  their  morning  rest. 

Beast  of  a  bird,  supinely  when  he  might 

Lie  snug  and  sleep,  to  rise  before  the  light! 

What  if  his  dull  forefathers  used  that  cry, 

Could  he  not  let  a  bad  example  die? 

The  world  was  fallen  to  an  easier  way ; 

This  age  knew  better  than  to  fast  and  pray. 

Good  sense  in  sacred  worship  would  appear 

So  to  begin  as  they  might  end  the  year. 

Such  feats  in  former  times  had  wrought  the  falls 

Of  crowing  Chanticleers  in  cloister'd  walls. 

Expell'd  for  this  and  for  their  lands,  they  fled. 

And  sister  Partlet,  with  her  hooded  head, 

Was  hooted  hence,  because  she  would  not  pray  a-bed. 

The  way  to  win  the  restiff  world  to  God 

Was  to  lay  by  the  disciplining  rod. 

Unnatural  fasts,  and  foreign  forms  of  prayer: 

Religion  frights  us  with  a  mien  severe. 

'Tis  prudence  to  reform  her  into  ease, 

And  put  her  in  undress,  to  make  her  please; 

A  lively  faith  will  bear  aloft  the  mind. 

And  leave  the  luggage  of  good  works  behind. 

This  sportive  irony,  ingeniously  turning  the  tables 


IV]  DRYDEN  105 

as  it  did  on  strict  and  self-righteous  Protestants, 
is  infinitely  more  telling  than  Oldham's  fantastic 
self-revelations  of  Jesuits.  But  Dryden,  in  addition 
to  his  genius,  was  better  equipped.  He  teems  with 
allusions,  not  only  (to  books  and  learning,  but  to 
contemporary  talk  and  manners.  Thus  we  have 
the  insinuated  comparison,  insulting  enough,  of 
Anglicanism  to  the  modish,  unvested  ladies  of 
Lely's  pictures.  He  himself,  one  fears,  illustrates 
only  too  well  the  moral  relaxation  of  contemporary 
England,  its  grovelling  self-interest,  its  disbelief  in 
the  higher  springs  of  action.  But  we  must  not 
forget  that  he  is  also  the  literary  symptom  of  its 
reasonableness  and  its  composed  outlook  on  life. 
How  the  very  notion  of  wit  has  changed  from  the 
old  quibbles  and  conceits  !  The  irregular  sallies 
of  barbarism  are  being  left  behind.  We  have 
reached  the  orderliness  of  a  settled  civilization, 
in  which  even  political  revolutions  take  a  regular, 
organized  form.  And  if  in  poetry  and  art  the 
great  figures  of  older  fancy,  both  classic  and 
medieval,  have  become  attenuated  to  smirking 
dwarfs,  they  are  none  the  less  proportionate  and 
graceful. 

Although  the  Court  had  the  best  writer  of  the 
day  on  its  side,  it  could  not  gain  the  rank  and  file 
so  easily.  Ballads  came  thick  and  fast,  and  the 
best  of  them  were  against  it.  Some  of  them  have 
both  wit  and  humour.  The  modern  element  in- 
creases ;  worn-out  forms,  like  the  Litany,  gradually 


106  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [oh. 

die  away.  In  one^  we  see  the  disgust  felt  when 
Algernon  Sidney  was  done  to  death  partly  on  the 
strength  of  an  undivulged  treatise,  composed  many 
years  before. 

Algernon  Sidney 

Of  Commonwealth  kidney, 
Composed  a  damn'd  libel  (ay,  marry,  was  it). 

Writ  to  occasion 

Ill-blood  in  the  nation. 
And  therefore  dispersed  it  all  over  his  closet. 

At  that  time,  however,  the  Whigs  were  muzzled 
politically  by  the  remodelling  of  the  Corporations, 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  see  where  the  Crown  would 
have  been  vulnerable,  had  not  James  by  his  anti- 
Anglican  policy  estranged  the  Tories  too.  He  was 
not  content  with  obtaining  a  civil  equality  by  the 
use  of  his  dispensing  power  :  he  began  to  force 
Catholics  into  Anglican  preferments,  while  his 
army  with  its  Catholic  officers  camped  ominously 
on  Hounslow  Heath.  His  belated  attempt  to 
conciliate  the  Dissenters  did  not  improve  his 
position  ;  he  only  helped  to  replace  the  Whigs  in 
power  in  their  corporation  strongholds.  Finally, 
even  his  Declaration  of  Indulgence  relieved  the 
Dissenters  of  their  disabilities  at  a  price  that  in 
general  they  were  unwilling  to  give,  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  an  unfettered  prerogative.  Mean- 
time the  mass  of  Englishmen  rallied  to  the  national 
church,  which  none  could  think  a  half-way  house 
to  Rome  or  a  slave  to  prerogative,  when  the  royal 

1  A  New  Song  of  the  Times,  1683. 


IV]  BALLADS  107 

satirist  was  whistled   on   to  attack  it,  and  the 

Seven  Bishops  were  persecuted  for  refusing  to 

read  a  Declaration  contrary  to  law.    The  nation 

was  determined  to  give  up  no  safeguard  against 

Catholicism  (and  the  Huguenots  were  fleeing  then 

from  France),  and  scoifed  at  the  very  idea  of  an 

equivalent.     A  ballad  of  1688  gives  the  popular 

view  of  the  Test. 

A  politic  law  which  Recusants  did  doom, 
That  into  our  Senate  they  never  might  come; 
But  equivalent  soon  was  proposed  in  its  room. 

Sing  hey,  brave  Popery,  ho,  rare  Popery. 

0  fine  Popery,  O  dainty  Popery  ho ! 
As  if  a  true  friend  should  in  kindness  demand 
A  tooth  in  my  head,  which  firmly  doth  stand. 
To  give  for't  another  he  had  in  his  hand. 

Sing  hey,  brave  Popery,  ho,  rare  Popery, 

0  fine  Popery,  0  dainty  Popery  ho ! 

Such  a  state  of  public  feeling  could  not  last  long. 
The  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  made  even  Tories 
desperate  at  the  prospect  of  another  legitimate 
Catholic  king.  Both  parties  combined  to  declare 
the  child  supposititious.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
was  invited  over  ;  there  was  a  rapid  scene-shifting, 
and  Divine  Right  and  indefeasible  Prerogative 
were  banished  from  English  public  law. 

Yet  they  were  not  easily  banished  from  opinion. 
The  exile  of  the  Stewarts  created  a  new  party 
from  the  extreme  Tories,  the  Jacobites  of  romance. 
To  men  of  the  time  they  formed  a  very  prosaic 
and  rather  underhand  opposition.  The  Revolution 
placed  Whigs  and  Tories  in  a  less  defined  position 
than  before.    They  had  clear  principles  to  guide 


108  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

them :  one  party  was  for  Parliament  and  toleration 
of  Dissent,  the  other  for  Royal  authority  and  the 
Church.  But  their  practical  policy  for  the  moment 
was  bound  to  be  much  the  same  :  they  both 
supported,  as  grudgingly  as  might  be,  their  de- 
liverer, William  III.  He  on  his  side  had  no  notion 
of  party-government ;  he  chose  his  own  ministers — 
once  or  twice  they  were  all  of  one  political  com- 
plexion— and  had  no  reason  to  be  otherwise  than 
vexed  at  the  continuance  of  Whigs  and  Tories. 
Nevertheless,  they  remained,  and  steadily  grew 
more  cohesive  under  the  leadership  of  the  great 
families  through  this  reign  and  the  next.  The 
permanence  of  Parliament  in  the  new  order  aided 
in  establishing  their  solidarity.  It  sat  for  some 
months  every  year,  and  the  members  were  con- 
tinually acting  in  concert.  The  main  interest  of 
the  sessions  was  of  course  financial,  though  the 
whole  administration  was  now  regularly  checked 
by  Parliament  ;  and  it  was  on  its  financial  side 
that  the  government  of  King  William  was  most 
susceptible  of  criticism.  Liberty  was  expensive. 
The  Revolution  made  England  perforce  leader 
of  the  league  against  prepotent  France,  which 
was  the  model  of  despotism  and  of  encroaching 
Catholicism  for  Europe.  William's  intervention 
in  England  had  been  but  a  move  in  the  inter- 
national game,  and,  if  England  wished  to  keep 
James  II  out,  she  must  also  resist  the  supremacy 
of  Louis  XIV.      - 


IV]  BALLADS  109 

But  the  taxes  grew  under  the  stress  of  war,  a 
war  which  though  successful  was  singularly  devoid 
of  victories  and  triumph.  Here  the  Jacobite 
ballad-writers  saw  their  chance.  The  days  had 
gone,  when  the  Whig  Lord  Wharton's  Lilli- 
hurlero,  doggerel  words  to  a  charming  tune, 
could  fan  the  flame  against  James.  And  the 
growth  of  habits  of  discussion  had  led  to  the 
abandonment  of  the  Censorship  of  the  Press  in 
1695.  Thus  time  and  means  served  them.  A  com- 
position of  Edward  Ward  (1667 — 1731),  rhymester, 
satirist  and  innkeeper,  will  do  for  a  favourable 
specimen  of  their  efforts. 

We  pay  for  our  new-born,  we  pay  for  our  dead, 
We  pay  if  we're  single,  we  pay  if  we're  wed ; 
To  show  that  our  merciful  Senate  don't  fail, 
They  begin  at  the  head  and  tax  down  to  the  tail. 
We  pay  through  the  nose  by  subjecting  foes. 
Yet  for  all  our  expenses  get  nothing  but  blows: 
At  home  we're  cheated,  abroad  we're  defeated, 

But  the  end  on't,  the  end  on't — the  Lord  above  knows. 

This  is  a  worthy  parallel  to  a  famous  description 
of  Sidney  Smith  under  the  not  dissimilar  circum- 
stances of  the  Revolutionary  wars. 

Before  William  III  died,  however.  Englishmen 
heartily  accepted  a  new  European  war  against 
France,  thanks  to  the  way  in  which  King  Louis 
showed  his  ulterior  designs  in  securing  the  Spanish 
Succession.  The  presence  of  a  native  Stewart  on 
the  throne,  too,  in  the  person  of  Anne,  made  the 
monarchy  popular  ;  and  Marlborough's  ascendency 
obscured  the  steady  growth  of  party  in  the  ad- 


no  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [cH. 

ministration.  The  Whigs  appeared  to  hold  power 
as  the  friends  of  the  favourite,  and  the  Tories,  not 
openly  cashiered,  could  not  deny  that  whatever 
faults  the  general  had,  Louis  XIV  would  never- 
more 

at  Notre  Dame 
Te  Deum  sing  in  quiet. 

But  the  wrath  of  the  Tories  slowly  grew.  The 
trial  of  Dr  Sacheverell  showed  how  strong  their 
tenets  of  royal  power  and  Anglicanism,  however 
stultified  the  first  was  by  the  Revolution,  were  in 
the  country.  Marlborough  became  the  object  of 
libels  and  squibs,  and  very  wretched  ones  they 
were. 

Yet  it  was  not  the  Tory  Party,  but  the  Queen, 
who  drove  Marlborough  from  power.  Parliament 
was  not  for  years  to  claim  a  voice  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  ministers.  It  had  not  even  come  to  the 
stage  of  compelling  their  resignation,  if  it  disliked 
them.  So  when  the  new  female  favourite,  Mrs 
Masham,  ousted  Marlborough  and  his  Duchess, 
the  angry  Whigs  turned  on  her  and  her  Tory 
mistress.    One  ballad  goes : 

Whenas  Queen  Anne  of  great  renown 

Great  Britain's  sceptre  sway'd, 
Besides  the  Church  she  dearly  loved 

A  dirty  chambermaid. 


0 !  Abigail,  that  was  her  name, 
She  starch'd  and  stitch'd  full  well; 

But  how  she  pierced  this  royal  heart 
No  mortal  man  can  tell. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  greater  number 


IV]  SWIFT  111 

of  English  party-satires  have  proceeded  from  the 
Opposition.  The  Outs  not  only  have  anger  and 
ambition  to  spur  them  on  ;  but  they  have  much 
more  of  a  tangible  nature  to  criticize  :  the  ministers 
are  obliged  to  act  and  therefore  err.  Thus  the 
conclusion  of  the  Peace  of  Utrecht  evoked  a  storm 
of  ballads,  which  did  not  recognize  that,  if  it  were 
inglorious,  it  was  also  profitable.  But  the  Tories 
were  now  to  find  a  skilful  defender  in  that  light, 
undress  verse  which  is  needed  for  day-to-day 
bickerings. 

Jonathan  Swift  (1667—1745)  finally  threw  in 
his  lot  with  the  Tories  in  the  autumn  of  1710,  and 
became  their  indispensable  pamphleteer.  In  his 
verses  a  rather  glum  humour  appears.  One  point 
of  Tory  policy  was  to  keep  the  Dissenters  out  of 
political  power  by  preventing  the  practice  of 
occasional  conformity,  by  which  they  evaded  the 
Corporation  Act.    The  Dean  ironically  defends  the 

Whigs : 

For  if  it  be  not  strange  \       i  ^ 

That  religion  should  change,  \     ^""'^ 

As  often  as  climates  and  fashions; 

Then  sure  there's  no  harm, 

That  one  should  conform,  -, 

To. serve  their  own  private  occasions.  J 

He  comments  on  Sachevereirs  prosecution  in  the 

same  tone : 

The  subject's  most  loyal 

That  hates  the  blood  royal, 
And  they  for  employments  have  merit, 

Who  swear  queen  and  steeple 

Were  made  by  the  people. 
And  neither  have  right  to  inherit. 


112  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [CH. 

The  monarchy's  fix'd, 

By  making  on't  mix'd, 
And  by  non-resistance  o'erthrown; 

And  preaching  obedience 

Destroys  our  allegiance, 
And  thus  the  Whigs  prop  up  the  throne.  . 

The  argumentative  power  of  these  verses  is  very 

remote  from  the  ways  of  most  ballads  ;  but  Swift 

could  portray  and  denounce  as  well.     He  assails 

Marlborough  on  his  fall  with  extraordinary  and 

perhaps  deserved  bitterness. 

While  he  his  utmost  strength  applied, 

To  swim  against  this  popular  tide, 

The  golden  spoils  flew  off  apace; 

Here  fell  a  pension,  there  a  place: 

The  torrent  merciless  imbibes 

Commissions,  perquisites  and  bribes; 

By  their  own  weight  sunk  to  the  bottom; 

Much  good  may't  do  them  that  have  caught  'em ! 

And  Midas  now  neglected  stands, 

With  asses'  ears  and  dirty  hands. 

Perhaps  the  direct  vigour  here  marks  the  nearest 

approach  of  Swift  to  poetical  feeling.     Truth  to 

say,  his  verses  are  hard  to  relish.     Too  often  there 

is  a  dry  brutality  about  them,  in  spite  of  their 

undoubted  power.      Even    his    rollicking    moods 

have  not  the  geniality  of  other  men's,  as  may  be 

seen  from  a  later  piece  of  his  on  the  Irish  imbroglio 

of  Wood's  Halfpence. 

When  foes  are  o'ercome,  we  preserve  them  from  slaughter,. 
To  be  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water. 
Now,  although  to  draw  water  is  not  very  good. 
Yet  we  all  should  rejoice  to  be  hewers  of  Wood. 


The  Heathens,  we  read,  had  gods  made  of  wood, 
Who  could  do  them  no  harm,  if  they  did  them  no  good; 
But  this  idol  Wood  may  do  us  great  evil ; 
Their  gods  were  of  wood,  but  our  Wood  is  the  DeviL 


IV]  THE  '15  113 

It  is  a  relief  to  turn  from  Swift,  the  saturnine, 
prosaic  genius,  to  the  insignificant  Tickell,  his 
contemporary,  who  wrote  one  piece  of  genial 
raillery,  which  is  not  devoid  of  poetry.  The 
Whigs  had  carried  the  day  at  Queen  Anne's 
death,  chiefly  because  their  leaders  were  personally 
superior  in  character  to  the  Tory  statesmen.  So 
now  the  Tories  were  the  Outs,  reduced  to  scoffs  at 
the  new  dynasty : 

God  prosper  long  our  noble  king, 
His  Turks  ^  and  Germans  all. 

They  had  no  hope  of  office  from  the  House  of 
Hanover.      George  I  came  ignorant  of   English 

.  language  and  customs,  but  perfectly  aware  that 
the  Tories  were   more   than   half  Jacobite    and 

\  possibly  exaggerating  the  stress  they  laid  on  their 
principles.  The  Jacobites  thought  that  now  was 
their  chance.  Here  was  an  unpopular  dynasty, 
and  a  great  party  which  embraced  the  majority  of 
Englishmen,  out  of  power  and  discontented,  while 
Scotland,  more  inclined  to  the  Stewarts  in  feeling, 
was  specially  indignant  at  the  recent  Union. 
Lord  Mar  rose  in  Perthshire.  But  the  Jacobite 
leaders,  including  the  Chevalier,  were  inept  as 
well  as  Queen  Anne's  Tory  ministers.  Then  the 
English  Tories  were  suspicious  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
King  of  uncertain  origin,  and  did  not  desire  the 
presence  of  a  Highland    Army.      The    rebellion 

^  Besides  his  German  retinue  George  I  brought  over  some 
Turkish  slaves. 

o.  8 


114  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

collapsed  miserably :  and  the  Whigs  rejoiced 
insultingly  over  the  flight  of  James  III.  The 
belief  in  his  spurious  birth,  one  may  remark,  was 
more  important  to  the  dying  Tory  creed  of  Divine 
Right,  than  to  theirs  : 

'Twas  when  the  seas  were  roaring 
With  blasts  of  northern  wind, 

Young  Perkin  lay  deploring 
On  warming  pan  reclined. 


Wide  o'er  the  roaring  billows 

He  cast  a  dismal  look, 
And  shiver'd  like  the  willows 

That  tremble  o'er  the  brook  i. 

It  was  to  increase  the  national  dislike  of  and 
contempt  for  the  Highlanders  that  Thomas  Tickell 
wrote  his  Imitation  of  the  Prophecy  o/Nereus. 

As  Mar  his  round  one  morning  took, 
(Whom  some  call  earl,  and  some  call  duke) 
And  his  new  brethren  of  the  blade. 
Shivering  with  fear  and  frost,  survey'd, 
On  Perth's  bleak  hills  he  chanced  to  spy 
An  aged  wizard  six  foot  high, 
With  bristled  hair  and  visage  blighted. 
Wall-eyed,  bare-haunch'd  and  second-sighted. 

The  grizzly  sage  in  thought  profound 
Beheld  the  chief  with  back  so  round. 
Then  roll'd  his  eyeballs  to  and  fro 
O'er  his  paternal  hills  of  snow. 
And  into  these  tremendous  speeches 
Broke  forth  the  prophet  without  breeches. 

"Into  what  ills  betray'd  by  thee. 
This  ancient  kingdom  do  I  see! 
Her  realms  unpeopled  and  forlorn! 
Wae's  me!  that  ever  thou  wert  born! 
Proud  English  loons  (our  clans  o'ercome) 
On  Scottish  pads  shall  amble  home; 
I  see  them  dress'd  in  bonnets  blue 
(The  spoils  of  thy  rebellious  crew); 

1  T.  Wright,  Caricature  History  of  the  Georges. 


IV]  TICKELL  115 

I  see  the  target  cast  away, 
And  ehequer'd  plaid  become  their  prey, 
The  ehequer'd  plaid  to  make  a  gown 
For  many  a  lass  in  London  town. 

"In  vain  thy  hungry  mountaineers 
Come  forth  in  all  their  warlike  gears, 
The  shield,  the  pistol,  durk  and  dagger, 
In  which  they  daily  wont  to  swagger. 
And  oft  have  sallied  out  to  pillage 
The  henroosts  of  some  peaceful  village, 
Or  while  their  neighbours  were  asleep. 
Have  carried  off  a  lowland  sheep. 

"What  boots  thy  highborn  host  of  beggars, 
Macleans,  Mackenzies,  and  Macgregors, 
With  popish  cutthroats,  perjured  ruffians. 
And  Foster's  troop  of  ragamuffins? 

"  In  vain  thy  lads  about  thee  bandy. 
Inflamed  with  bagpipes  and  with  brandy." 

The  rest  is  praise  of  the  Scottish  Whigs.  This 
masterpiece  of  light  verse,  with  its  echoes  of 
Marvell's  serious  style,  almost  has  political  im- 
portance as  an  illustration  of  that  English  good 
humour  which  has  made  Parliamentary  institutions 
possible  ;  it  also,  one  must  admit,  exemplifies  that 
somewhat  coarse  contempt  of  Englishmen  for  the 
Keltic  fringe,  which  has  been  a  part-cause  of  so 
many  later  difficulties  for  the  United  Kingdom. 

While  ineffectual  Romance  was  thus  fading  in 
the  North,  a  momentous,  prosaic  revolution  was 
taking  place  at  the  centre  of  politics.  The  absence 
of  George  I  from  the  meetings  of  his  ministers, 
due  to  his  ignorance  of  the  English  language, 
combined  with  the  fact  that  ministers  were  all  of 
a  party  to  give  the  Cabinet  more  definition  than 
heretofore.  Nobody  could  doubt  that  the  group 
of  men  who  met  in  that  informal  council  held  the 

8—2 


116  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

King's  confidence  and  the  reins  of  government. 
The  legislation  which  had  been  directed  against 
its  existence  in  Queen  Anne's  day  could  not  be 
repeated.  The  need  of  it  was  too  obvious.  The 
further  need  of  a  permanent  president  to  direct 
its  deliberations  and  be  factotum  for  a  monarch, 
who  even  when  in  England  was  something  of  an 
absentee,  was  almost  immediately  to  make  itself 
felt,  although  for  years  the  stubborn  fact  was  to 
be  resisted.  For  the  moment,  however,  the  main 
aim  of  Whig  statesmen  was  to  enter  the  Cabinet, 
and  every  event  was  made  the  subject  of  intrigues 
for  that  end.  There  is  a  capital  squib  of  1719 
occasioned  by  the  efforts  of  seven  of  them  to 
regain  their  places  by  currying  favour  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  in  Georgian  fashion  was  his 
father's  enemy.  It  is  too  good  not  to  quote  at 
some  length  : 

To  Richmond  these  Seven  Wise  Men  went, 

Gall  Walpole's  barge  it  bore  'em, 
Our  Hope  his  course  to  meet  them  bent. 

Six  footmen  march'd  before  him: 
In  his  embroider'd  coat  they  found  him. 
With  all  his  strutting  dwarfs  around  him. 

"Welcome,  my  lords  and  gentlemen, 

I'm  glad  to  see  your  faces; 
First  kiss  my  royal  hand,  and  then 

Walk  in  and  take  your  places: 
Set  me  my  chair,  on  either  hand 
1  give  you  Wise  Men  leave  to  stand." 


Quoth  Robin  ^  next  in  mighty  glee, 
Of  whom  it  is  much  doubt^ 


1  Sir  R.  Walpole. 


IV]  WALPOLE  117 

Whether  more  wise,  or  howe'er  't  be, 

Doth  now  at  last  shine  out — 
"To  lay  these  thirteen  fools ^  quite  flat, 
We  must  do  something  wise, — but  what? 

"We'll  say  the  King's  in  possession; 

Ergo,  'twill  plainly  seem. 
They're  enemies  to  the  succession, 

Who're  just  and  true  to  him: 
And  therefore.  Sir,  we  Seven  Wise  Men 
Do  pray  for  you  know  what — Amen!" 


Thus  wisely  spoke  these  Seven  Wise  Men, 

And  thus  the  Eighth  replied: 
"0!   what  reward,  good  Friends,  and  when 

Shall  I  for  you  provide? — 
And  yet  I  must  to  save  expenses 
E'en  starve  you,  as  I  staiTe  my  wenches. 

"Though  you  should  fail  to  gain  the  prize. 

Mistaken  in  your  rules, 
Ye  Wise  Men,  hear  what  I  advise. 

Go  fright  these  thirteen  fools; 
For  next  to  hearing  of  a  drum  beat, 
I  should  delight  in  such  a  combat. 

"But  twice  ten  long  years  hence  and  more. 

When  'tis  my  turn  to  reign. 
If  you  don't  die  or  dote  before, 

And  I  these  thoughts  retain. 
You  that  have  lost  ycmr  places — then. 
Perhaps,  may  have  them  all  again." 

Walpole  and  his  friends,  however,  did  not  have 
to  wait  so  long.  He  soon  made  his  peace  with 
George  I  and  returned  to  power.  It  is  a  common- 
place concerning  Sir  Robert  that  he  provided  his 
country  with  two  unwelcome  benefits,  peace  and 
the  prime-ministei-ship.  Both  were  necessary  under 
the  circumstances,  for  a  state  under  a  foreign  king, 
just  emerged  from  exhausting  wars  with  a  peer- 
less opportunity  for  commercial  development,  and 

1  Ministers, 


118  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

divided  at  home  by  bitter  factions  :  but  both  were 
profoundly  unpopular.  Walpole  in  vain  tried  to 
disguise  the  fact  that  the  other  ministers  were  his 
subordinates.  It  was  too  patent  that  a  dissentient 
or  would-be  rival  for  the  royal  ear  had  to  resign* 
Then  his  severe  discipline  over  his  partisans  in 
Parliament  was  notorious.  It  is  true  that  votes 
in  the  Commons,  growing  as  it  was  more  and 
more  the  centre  of  the  state,  had  long  been  bought 
and  sold  ;  but  now  a  disobedient  vote  was  at  once 
punished  by  loss  of  place  or  pension.  Even  in 
that  corrupt  age,  when  borough-owning  was  easily 
condoned,  such  a  complete  system  aroused  criticism. 
The  discontented  Whigs  and  the  Tories,  calling 
themselves  Patriots,  were  loud  in  their  denuncia- 
tions of  the  tyrannical,  corrupt  minister,  who  kept 
them  from  the  sweets  of  office.  In  Parliament 
and  in  the  country  they  kept  up  a  vigorous, 
and  occasionally  successful  opposition.  They  were 
fortunate,  mainly  through  their  connection  with 
the  literary  Tory,  Bolingbroke,  in  having  allies  in 
some  of  the  leading  writers  of  the  day.  Pope 
aided  them  with  more  exalted  verse,  while  John  Gay 
(1685 — 1732)  joined  in  with  side-hits  in  a  lighter 
vein. 

Gay's  first  attack  on  the  Minister  was  in  his 
comic  piece,  preluding  Gilbert  and  Sullivan,  The 
Beggar's  Opera,  where  the  character  of  the  high- 
wayman, Macheath,  was  palpably  intended  for 
him.     The  government  actually  thought  it  best  to 


IV]  GAY  119 

prohibit  the  performance  of  Polly,  the  sequel  to 
the  dangerous  mockery  of  the  opera.  They  could 
not,  however,  prevent  the  publication  of  his  second 
posthumous  volume  of  Fables,  in  which  various 
sly  allusions,  all  in  Gay  s  easy,  unexalted  manner, 
were  made  to  Walpole.  Corruption,  it  seems,  is 
prevalent  in  the  beast-world. 

A  tempting  turnip's  silver  skin 
Drew  a  base  hog  through  thick  and  thin: 
Bought  with  a  stag's  dehcious  haunch, 
The  mercenary  wolf  was  staunch : 
The  convert  fox  grew  warm  and  hearty, 
A  pullet  gain'd  him  to  the  party: 
The  golden  pippin  in  his  fist, 
A  chattering  monkey  join'd  the  list. 

Elsewhere  the  discipline  enforced  is  the  grievance  : 

All  consciences  must  bend  and  ply; 
You  must  vote  on  and  not  know  why: 
Through  thick  and  thin  you  must  go  on; 
One  scruple  and  your  place  is  gone. 

There  has  been  a  revolution  in  opinion  since  these 
lines  were  written.  They  are  evidence,  neverthe- 
less, of  how  reluctantly  England  found  salvation  in 
party-government.  Of  better  quality  are  the  lines 
attacking  the  Prime  Ministership,  which  was  a 
greater  novelty  and  inspired  more  real  aversion. 

A  bear  of  shag  and  manners  rough, 
At  climbing  trees  expert  enough, 
For  dext'rously,  and  safe  from  harm, 
Year  after  year  he  robb'd  the  swarm : 
Thus  thriving  on  industrious  toil. 
He  gloried  in  his  pilfer'd  spoil. 

This  trick  so  fill'd  him  with  conceit. 
He  thought  no  enterprise  too  great. 
Alike  in  sciences  and  arts, 
He  boasted  universal  parts; 


120  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [CH. 

Pragmatic,  busy,  bustling,  bold, 
His  arrogance  was  uncontroll'd : 
And  thus  he  made  his  party  good. 
And  grew  dictator  of  the  wood. 

The  beasts  with  admiration  stare. 
And  think  him  a  prodigious  Bear. 
Were  any  common  booty  got, 
'Twas  his  each  portion  to  allot: 
For  why?  he  found  there  might  be  picking, 
Ev'n  in  the  carving  of  a  chicken. 
Intruding  thus,  he  by  degrees 
Claim'd,  too,  the  butcher's  larger  fees. 
And  now  his  overweening  pride 
In  ev'ry  province  will  preside. 
No  task  too  difficult  was  found: 
His  blundering  nose  misleads  the  hound. 
In  stratagems  and  subtle  arts. 
He  overrules  the  fox's  parts. 

We  have  fallen  a  long  way  from  Dryden's  Hind 
and  Panther  here.  Gay,  however,  was  but  an  under- 
ling and  the  press-campaign  in  the  Craftsman 
against  the  Minister  was  carried  on  by  more  dis- 
tinguished pens.  So  formidable  did  the  Opposition 
become  that  Walpole  sought  to  silence  it  with  the 
aid  of  the  Law-courts.  His  task  was  the  easier  as 
the  then  conception  of  libel  included  most  criticism 
on  the  government.  However,  in  this  particular 
case  the  defendants  got  off  on  another  debatable 
question  in  law.  The  Judges  as  a  rule  held  that 
the  Jury  could  only  decide  in  a  libel  case  on  the  fact 
of  publication,  and  must  leave  the  all-important 
decision  as  to  whether  the  incriminated  statement 
was  a  libel  or  not  to  them  ;  for  that  they  said  was 
a  question  of  Law,  of  which  they  alone  were  the 
exponents.  It  can  be  imagined  how  fatal  the 
minister-appointed  Judges  were  to  opponents  of 


IV]  BALLADS  121 

the  government.  But  the  Juries  did  not  always 
tamely  submit,  and  on  this  occasion  triumphantly 
brought  in  a  general  verdict  of  acquittal.  The 
verdict  had  such  importance  (as  criticism  indeed 
might  be  impossible  under  a  system  of  purely 
judicial  decisions)  that  no  less  a  person  than  the 
leader  of  the  Opposition,  Pulteney  himself,  cele- 
brated it  in  a  rejoicing  and  long-remembered 
ballad,  The  Honest  Jury. 

You  may  call  this  man  fool  who  treaties  does  blunder, 
And   style  him  a  knave  who  his  country  does  plunder ; 
If  the  Peace  be  not  good,  it  can  ne'er  be  a  crime 
To  wish  it  were  better  in  prose  or  in  rhyme, 

For  Sir  Philip^  well  knows 

That  his  innuendoes 
Will  serve  him  no  longer  in  verse  or  in  prose; 
For  twelve  honest  men  have  decided  the  cause, 
Who  are  judges  alike  of  the  facts  and  the  laws. 

By  a  not  uncommon  fate  these  spirited  and  ar- 
gumentative verses,  before  they  passed  out  of 
general  recollection,  were  used  to  demonstrate  the 
contrary  to  what  they  said.  Lord  Mansfield,  the 
judge  in  the  Dean  of  St  Asaph's  case,  quoted  the 
last  line  as 

Who  are  judges  of  facts,  though  not  judges  of  laws. 

It  needed  a  special  statute  in  1792  to  secure  the 
jury  full  powers  in  a  libel  action. 

Walpole's  monopoly  of  power  did  him  less 
harm  than  his  peace-policy.  His  position  as  King's 
Minister,  supplemented  by  the  system  of  corruption, 
was  sufficient  to  secure  him  the  support,  however 

^  Lord  Hardwicke,  then  Attorney-General,  prosecuting  for  the 
government. 


122  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

grudging,  of  the  thickheaded  squirearchy,  who 
were  not  easily  disturbed  by  cries  of  a  subverted 
constitution,  when  everything  went  on  as  usual, 
and  their  own  ascendency  was  unimpaired.  But 
the  squirearchy  were  susceptible  on  questions  of 
the  national  honour,  and  the  moneyed  men  on 
questions  of  trade  ;  and  both  saw  their  gods  over- 
turned by  Walpole's  anxiety  to  keep  the  peace 
with  Spain.  His  policy,  indeed,  was  growing  out 
of  date,  and  it  may  be  said  that  the  nation  was 
wiser  than  he.  Fortune  varies  in  her  procedure, 
says  Machiavelli  somewhere,  and  men  fail  through 
not  varying  their  methods  with  her.  Then,  too,  a 
public  opinion  was  growing  outside  the  House. 
Growing  wealth,  political  campaigns,  religious 
movements,  and,  we  may  add,  the  long  line  of 
satires  and  political  ballads,  had  not  been  without 
their  effects.  The  nation  outside  the  political 
classes  possessed  of  power  began  to  have  opinions 
on  current  politics ;  and  those  opinions  were 
largely  formed  by  the  middle-class  of  manu- 
facturers, traders  and  professional  men.  Already 
they  affected  elections  and  had  a  leader,  the  elder 
Pitt,  in  the  Commons.  Here  at  last  was  a  born 
ruler,  who  could  not  be  bribed,  and  who  rested, 
not  on  royal  support  or  family  connection,  but  on 
national  opinion.  If  Walpole  supplied  one  element 
of  the  Prime  Ministership  in  being  party-leader 
and  possessor  of  the  King's  confidence,  Pitt  intro- 
duced another  in  appealing  to  popular  support. 


IV]  BALLADS  123 

The  first  result  of  this  new  force  was  the  fall  of 
Walpole  in  1742.  The  King  was  obliged  to  part 
with  him,  now  he  could  no  longer  manage  the 
Commons.  Walpole  and  Pulteney  retired  together 
to  the  Lords,  and  a  new  ministry  was  formed.  It 
seems  Lord  Carteret  was  the  leading  spirit  in  its 
construction,  and  some  verses  full  of  a  vinegary 
humour,  written  by  Pope's  Sporus,  Lord  Hervey, 
give  us  a  glimpse  of  his  procedure.  They  unveil, 
what  was  still  hidden  from  vulgar  eyes  in  1742, 
the  decadence  of  the  monarchy,  which  had  been 
steadily  yielding  real  control  to  the  Whig  oligarchy 
and  its  leaders  : 

Whom  they  pleased  they  put  in,  whom  they  pleased  they 

put  out, 
And  just  like  a  top  they  all  lash'd  him^  about; 
Whilst  he,  like  a  top,  with  a  murmuring  noise, 
Seemed  to  grumble,  but  turn'd  to  these  rude,  lashing  boys. 

Further  on  Carteret  speaks — 

All  that  weathercock  Pulteney  shall  ask,  we  must  grant, 
For  to  make  him  a  great  noble  nothing  I  want; 
And  to  cheat  such  a  man  demands  all  my  arts, 
For  though  he's  a  fool,  he's  a  fool  with  great  parts. 

And  as  popular  Clodius,  the  Pulteney  of  Rome, 
From  a  noble,  for  power  did  plebeian  become, 
So  this  Clodius  to  be  a  Patrician  shall  choose. 
Till  what  one  got  by  changing,  the  other  shall  lose. 

Thus  flatter'd  and  courted  and  gazed  at  by  all. 

Like  Phaeton,  raised  for  a  day,  he  shall  fall, 

Put  the  world  in  a  flame,  and  show  he  did  strive 

To  get  reins  in  his  hand,  though  'tis  plain  he  can't  drive. 

As  these  admirable  lines  show,  Walpole  had  made 
history  in  more  ways  than   one.     When  Queen 

1  The  King. 


124  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [CH. 

Anne  died,  no  statesman  could  be  banished  from 
the  opportunities  of  power  by  being  promoted  to 
the  Lords.  Now  the  Peers  were  chiefly  powerful 
as  great  landlords  and  as  borough-owners.  Of 
course  Walpole  was  not  the  ultimate  cause  of  the 
change,  but  he  promoted  it  by  his  early  recognition 
of  the  tendency  and  by  basing  his  position  largely 
on  the  support  of  the  Commons. 

The  succeeding  ministers  found,  too,  their 
song-writer  to  attack  them.  Sir  Charles  Hanbury 
Williams.  It  is,  however,  only  necessary  to  mention 
that  trivial  writer,  who  carried  on  the  succession 
of  light  verse  composition  with  no  more  than  a 
faculty  for  glib  rhymes  and  a  complete  knowledge 
of  the  scandals  of  the  day. 

The  current  of  light  verse  turns  and  eddies 
;  with  the  changes  in  politics  from  day  to  day.  Save 
in  connection  with  the  events  of  which  it  tells,  it 
is  little  worth  remembering  ;  yet  for  that  reason 
it  is  the  aptest,  if  not  the  truest  or  most  impressive, 
comment  on  them.  We  are  not  confused  by  any 
power  of  genius  to  see  below  the  surface  or  to 
ennoble  its  theme  in  the  transfigurations  of  art. 
Thus  it  has  seemed  best  to  give  the  commonplace 
productions  of  party-conflict  in  their  order  before 
proceeding  to  the  series  of  more  ambitious  works 
which  lead  up  to  its  satiric  masterpiece. 

Dryden's  eflbct  on  his  contemporaries  in  the 
rhyming-trade  was  so  tremendous,  that  they  at- 
tacked him  in  his  own  words  and  metre,  barely 


IV]  DRYDEN'S  IMITATORS  125 

conscious  of  the  homage  they  were  doing  him.  Tate 
of  course  was  his  coadjutor  in  the  Second  Part  of 
Absalom  and  Achitophel.  The  only  merit  of 
Pordage  and  Settle,  who  wrote  replies  to  the 
First  Party  lay  in  their  echoes.  Shadwell,  who 
imitated  less,  wrote  worse  even  than  they,  when 
he  insolently  assailed  the  author  of  The  Medal, 
and  provoked  the  monumental  reply,  aere  peren- 
nius,  MacFlechnoe. 

One  of  the  best  Whig  productions  of  James  II's 
time  is  The  Character  of  a  Man  of  No  Honour\ 
from  which  a  fragment  may  be  quoted. 

As  Heaven  has  taught  the  Soul  of  Man  to  know, 
Whate'er  It  pleaseth  to  dispense  below, 
Shall  to  the  advantage  of  believers  tend 
And  bless  their  blind  obedience  in  the  end ; 
So  we  such  awful  thoughts  of  you  receive, 
Whate'er  you'll  do,  we  for  our  good  believe. 
Our  grand  ambition  is  our  King  to  please; 
We  ne'er  can  want  repose  while  he's  at  ease. 
When  by  obedience  we  have  given  you  rest. 
And  blasted  even  the  frightful  name  of  Test, 
But  smile  upon  us  and  your  slaves  are  blest. 

This  might  do  for  Shadwell  at  his  best,  and 
may  serve  to  show  the  way  Dryden's  verse  was 
copied.  There  is  no  need  to  quote  from  such 
miserable  abuse  of  Shaftesbury  and  the  Whigs  as 
Otway  (1652-85)  could  write  in  a  long  dull  ode, 
or  his  despicable  caricature  of  the  author  of  the 
Exclusion  Bill  in  Venice  Preserved.  Later  on 
comes  King  with  a  worthless  attempt  in  Oldham's 
manner  against  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  and 

1  The  State-Poems  give  no  author's  name. 


126  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

Defoe's  dreary  imitation  of  Dryden,  Jure  Divino, 
written  for  the  Whigs.  Much  better  is  the  epigram 
of  Garth  (1661—1719),  this  time  actually  on  the 
Tory  Queen.  He  addresses  France  on  the  peace 
of  Utrecht. 

For  thee,  for  thee  alone,  what  could  she  more? 
She  lost  the  honour  she  had  gain'd  before ; 
Lost  all  the  trophies  which  her  arms  had  won 
(Such  Caesar  never  knew,  nor  Philip's  son); 
Resign'd  the  glories  of  a  ten  years'  reign. 
And  such  as  none  but  Marlborough's  arm  could  gain  ; 
For  thee  in  annals  she's  content  to  shine 
Like  other  monarchs  of  the  Stuart  line. 

The  crushing  mildness  of  this  climax  was  a  fit 
harbinger  of  the  Hanoverians. 

The  lesser  men  under  the  early  Georges  are 
hardly  worth  referring  to.  Tickell  showed  that 
in  heroic  couplets  he  could  be  as  dull  as  any. 
Thompson  in  the  stodgy  blank  verse  of  his 
Britannia  contrived  to  be  both  matter-of-fact 
and  unreasonable  at  the  same  time,  when  he 
attacked  Walpole  over  the  Spanish  maltreatment 
of  the  British  mercantile  marine.  Young,  fol- 
lowing in  his  footsteps,  gave  a  model  of  the 
forcible-feeble  style  in  his  comments  on  the  Young 
Pretender. 

And  shall  a  pope-bred  princeling  crawl  ashore. 
Replete  with  venom,  guiltless  of  a  sting, — 

But  it  would  be  absurd  to  rake  over  these  dead 
bones  any  further.  Whitehead's  State  Dunces 
(1733)  shows  a  little  more  polish  of  form  and  a 
virulence  of  personal  invective  pursued  seriatim ; 


IV]  POPE  127 

but  his  exiguous  merit  is  due  to  imitation  of  the 
reigning  hterary  king,  Alexander  Pope.  ^ 

One  of  Dryden's  misfortunes  was  to  be  the 
forerunner  of  Pope  (1688 — 1744),  who  outdid  him 
in  his  own  measure  and  ambitions.  If  Drjden  1 
was  lucid,  easy,  epigrammatic  and  correct.  Pope  S 
reached  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  these  qualities.  J 
Dryden  was  literary  dictator  for  a  few  years,  Pope 
for  several  generations.  Dryden  carried  on  the 
reform  of  the  heroic  couplet,  making  it  sustained, 
even  and  perhaps  monotonous.  Pope  went  still 
further  in  the  rigidity  of  his  vei*se,  and  in  the 
perpetual  coincidence  of  the  metrical  framework, 
now  limited  to  a  narrow  orthodoxy,  and  the  syntax 
of  the  sentence.  Dryden's  licences  disappear  ;  the 
Alexandrine  follows  the  enjamhement.  At  the 
same  time,  in  the  content  of  the  verse,  the  later 
French  classicism,  with  its  tinsel  mythology,  its 
stilted  expressions,  and  its  air  of  decorous  good 
breeding,  comes  into  full  vogue.  A  crass,  prosaic 
wax  it  was,  which  rendered  men  deaf  to  the  voices, 
which  one  would  think  irresistible,  of  the  older 
national  literature. 

Nevertheless  in  the  particular  department  of  7 
political  satire,  Pope  barely  comes  into  competi-  ?  ns 
tion  with  Dryden.      His  health  and  habits  made    ^^^ 
him  somewhat  of  a  recluse,  and  he  was  bred  a  ^"^^  -^ 
Catholic.     It  followed  that  the  more  noisy,  active    ^^  ^ 
part  of  life,  and  especially  politics,  were  beyond 
his  reach.     Besides,  the  generalizing  tendencies  of 


128  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

his  school  led  him  to  satirize  universal  follies  and 
natural  whims  of  character,  not  to  make  an  in- 
discriminate assault  on  all  of  a  different  way  of 
thinking.     Then  the  delicacy  of  his  wit  and  imagi- 
i  nation   would    have  been  out  of  place    on   the 
*'        hustings.     He  wrote  chiefly  for  the  drawing-room 
i  and  for  the  library. 

Thus  although  he  so  influenced  the  style  of 
political  satirists,  he  was  scarcely  one  himself. 
Obviously,  some  of  his  victims,  like  Lord  Hervey, 
were  satirized  partly  for  political  motives,  but 
politics^  themselves  are  kept  out  of  sight.  Only  at 
the  end  of  his  career  does  he  treat  of  public 
affairs,  and,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  friend 
of  Bolingbroke,  allows  himself  an  ironical  thrust 
or  so  at  Sir  Robert  Walpole  and  his  peace  policy 
and  at  the  prevailing  corruption.  The  acme  of 
these  attacks  was  reached  in  the  Imitation  of 
Horace's  Epistle  to  Augustus  in  1737.  In  words 
of  unforgetable  mocking  adulation  Pope  celebrated. 

^ the  King  and  his  minister's  policy.    It  is  a  happy 

'  ^  y    .  thing,  perhaps,  that  George's  insensibility  to  the 
^■p  />r  jvfuges  prevented  his  realizing  the  effect  of  Pope's 
corrosive  lines,  when  blatant  denunciations  would 
have  been  long  forgotten. 

Oh !  could  I  mount  on  the  Maeonian  wing, 

Your  arms,  your  actions,  your  repose  to  sing! 

What  seas  you  traversed,  and  what  fields  you  fought! 

Your  country's  peace,  how  oft,  how  dearly  bought! 

How  barbarous  rage  subsided  at  your  word, 

And  nations  wonder'd  while  they  dropp'd  the  sword ! 

How,  when  you  nodded,  o'er  the  land  and  deep, 

Peace  stole  her  wing,  and  wrapp'd  the  world  in  sleep. 


IV]  POPE  129 

Till  earth's  extremes  your  mediation  own, 
And  Asia's  tyrants  tremble  at  your  throne. 
But  verse,  alas !  your  Majesty  disdains ; 
And  I'm  not  used  to  panegyric  strains : 
The  zeal  of  fools  oflfends  at  any  time, 
And  most  of  all  the  zeal  of  fools  in  rhyme. 
Besides  a  fate  attends  on  all  I  write, 
That  when  I  aim  at  praise,  they  say  I  bite. 

— ^, 

In  this  way  the  tradition  of  Dryden  attained 
its  highest  success.     But  it  was  a  perilous  one. 
Satire    and  personal  warfare,  mingled   with    di- 
dactics, a  moral  use  of  tooth  and  claw,  had  become 
the  staple  of  English  poetry.    They  were  subjects 
difficult  to  redeem  from  dreariness  and  unloveli- 
ness,  even  by  the  master's  hand.     Unhappily  it"i 
was  Pope's  lower  merits  and  qualities  which  could  ( 
be  imitated,  not  his  brilliance  or  artistic  instinct. 
The  ungracious  and  the  spiteful  rushed  en  masse  ^ 
into  verse.  ~(( 

The  closing  years  of  George  II  were  remarkable 
for  the  successes  gained  by  Great  Britain.  The 
King  himself  had,  it  is  true,  little  to  do  with  them. 
Not  exactly  elbowed  out  of  public  affairs,  he  only 
possessed  a  subordinate  influence.  In  1744  he  was 
compelled  to  dismiss  Carteret  by  the  Whig  leaders : 
and  his  share  in  the  choice  of  ministers  was 
openly  negatived  in  1746,  when  they  forced  him  by 
a  simultaneous  resignation  to  admit  Pitt  to  the 
Cabinet.  Although  the  after-effects  of  the  Jacobite 
rebellion  were  to  be  seen  in  these  events,  the 
cohesion  of  the  Whig  party  was  the  main  factor. 
It  was  evident  that  the  Crown  could  not  resist 

o.  9 


130  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch. 

them  while  they  held  together  and  there  was  no 
alternative.  Still  George  II  could  find  some  con- 
solation in  foreign  affairs.  "Though  kick'd  and 
cuff'd  here,  he  could  there  kick  and  cuff."  The 
diplomatic  revolution  of  1756,  which  led  up  to 
the  Seven  Years'  War  was  partly  caused  by  his 
anxiety  to  safeguard  Hanover.  Then  the  Seven 
Years'  War  itself  provided  an  unprecedented  series 
of  conquests  for  England.  Her  naval  supremacy 
was  established.  In  America  and  the  East  Indies 
she  was  dominant.  The  tide  of  victory  in  1760  was 
still  flowing  and  still  being  celebrated  in  patriotic 
ballads,  when  George  II  died  and  was  succeeded 
vby  his  grandson  George  III. 

George  III  came  to  the  throne  resolved  "  to  be 
a  king."  Not  that  any  reversion  to  pre-revolu- 
tionary  days  was  intended  by  the  phrase,  but  he 
wished  to  recover  the  position  held  by  William  III, 
which  had  been  gradually  lost  by  succeeding 
sovrans  and  more  particularly  by  George  II.  Now 
circumstances  had  changed  again  in  the  Crown's 
favour.  The  collapse  of  Jacobitism  after  the  '45 
freed  the  Tories  from  any  disloyal  tendency  ;  and 
after  all  their  strength  in  the  country,  although  it 
had  long  been  of  a  passive  kind,  was  greater  than 
that  of  the  Whigs.  Then  the  Whig  ascendency 
largely  depended  on  a  Parliamentary  combination 
of  great  families.  It  was  their  solidarity  which 
had  humiliated  George  II  in  1746.  The  whole 
career,  however,  of  the  elder  Pitt  tended  to  sap  the 


IV]  GEORGE  III  131 

foundations  of  that  Parliamentary  oligarchy  by 
awakening  public  opinion  outside  ;  and  he  further 
made  a  beginning  in  the  introduction  of  an  ideal 
of  public  purity,  which  could  not  but  affect  a 
party-machinery  dependent  on  corruption.  Add 
to  this,  that  George  III  was  native-born  and 
popular,  not  odious  and  German,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  his  position  was  very  strong. 

For  the  movement  initiated  by  Pitt,  however, 
the  new  King  had  little  sympathy.  He  proposed 
to  resume  the  patronage  of  the  Crown  himself, 
and  to  beat  the  Whigs  at  their  own  methods. 
With  the  aid  of  his  favourite,  Lord  Bute,  he 
rapidly  undermined  the  Whig  Cabinet  he  inherited. 
Pitt  was  soon  resigning,  and  the  titular  Prime 
Minister,  Newcastle,  was  shortly  compelled  to 
follow.  A  Bute  Cabinet,  directed  by  the  King 
personally,  then  entered  formally  upon  its  ex- 
istence with  Tory  principles,  being  supported  in 
the  Commons  by  the  new  party  of  King's  Friends, 
which  was  held  together  by  places  and  pensions, 
while  it  advocated  the  avowable  and  old  principle 
that  the  King's  Minister  should  be  voted  with  if 
reasonably  possible. 

But  George  III  had  made  at  least  three  capital 
mistakes.  He  missed  the  support  of  the  better 
public  morality  fostered  by  Pitt,  which  was  out- 
raged to  see  the  King  bribing  constituencies  and 
carrying  corruption  as  far  as  ever.  He  espoused 
a  peace-policy,  and  soon  gave  the  nation  reason  to 

9—2 


132  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [CH. 

regret  the  glorious  times  just  past.  And  he  made 
a  Scot  his  favourite  and  Prime  Minister,  thereby 
arousing  all  the  ancient  dislikes  of  his  English 
subjects.  The  lead  in  opposition  to  the  Court  was 
taken  by  the  notorious  Wilkes,  who  succeeded  in 
extending  Whiggism  to  cover  a  group  of  new 
doctrines  on  the  sovranty  of  the  people,  partly 
derived  from  the  theories  of  the  French  philo- 
sophes,  but  also  standing  in  some  connection  with 
native-grown  public  opinion.  Now  Wilkes,  while 
assaulting  Bute  in  his  paper,  the  North  Briton^ 
in  prose,  looked  about  for  a  poetical  ally  ;  and 
found  what  he  sought  in  Charles  Churchill. 

Churchill  (1731-64)  had  taken  Orders  for  a 
livelihood,  but  a  loud,  bucklike  personage  such  as 
he  was,  even  in  the  lax  eighteenth  century,  was  not 
fitted  for  a  clergyman's  life,  and  his  unfortunate 
calling  brought  him  nothing  but  discredit.  His 
call  to  write  eighteenth -century  poetry,  however, 
was  quite  genuine.  He  had  a  masculine,  rapid 
[style,  with  vigorous  antitheses  and  strong  move- 
I  ment.  Of  course  he  studied  Pope  ;  he  thought, 
too,  he  outdid  his  predecessor.  But  in  truth  he 
fell  hopelessly  behind  both  Pope  and  Dryden  in 
wit  and  in  humour.  Then  the  charm  and  imagina- 
tion of  higher  poetry  areabsent  in  him.  Neither 
had  he  tHe  poet's  judgment  or  skill  to  mix  his 
colours.  There  is  a  blatant  air  about  him.  But 
he  is  cutting,  and  hits  hard  and  straight  at  the 
objects  of  his  satire.    In  short  he  was  just  the 


IV]  CHURCHILL  133 

man  to  have  a  deserved  contemporary  vogue  ;  but, 
perhaps,  had  little  claim  to  join  the  immortals. 

His  first  satires  were  non-political,  but,  after 
some  months'  friendship  with  Wilkes,  he  brought 
out  in  1763  an  attack  on  Scotland  and  Bute,  The 
Prophecy  of  Famine,  a  rather  awkward  combina- 
tion of  an  epistle  and  a  satiric  pastoral.  He  passes 
from  heavy  irony,  such  as — 

To  that  rare  soil,  where  virtues  clust'ring  grow, 
What  mighty  blessings  doth  not  England  owe! 
What  waggon-loads  of  courage,  wealth  and  sense. 
Doth  each  revolving  day  import  from  thence ! 
To  us  she  gives,  disinterested  friend ! 
Faith  without  fraud,  and  Stuarts  ^  without  end — 

to  a  laboured  pleasantry,  as  in — 

Thence  simple  bards  by  simple  prudence  taught, 
To  this  wise  town  by  simple  patrons  brought. 
In  simple  manner  utter  simple  lays. 
And  take,  with  simple  pensions,  simple  praise. 

He  is  much  better  in  a  directer  style — 

They've  sense  to  get  what  we  want  sense  to  keep, 

and  becomes  amusing  when  he  lets  a  rough  sense 
of  humour  have  free  play,  as  in  his  description  of 
the  two  Scottish  "  swains  " : 

Jockey,  whose  manly,  highboned  cheeks  to  crown, 

With  freckles  spotted,  flamed  the  golden  down. 

With  meikle  art  could  on  the  bagpipes  play. 

E'en  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  day: 

Sawney  as  long  without  remorse  could  bawl 

Home's  madrigals  and  ditties  from  Fingal ; 

Oft  at  his  strains,  all  natural  though  rude. 

The  Highland  lass  forgot  her  want  of  food. 

And,  whilst  she  scratch'd  her  lover  into  rest, 

Sunk  pleased,  though  hungry,  on  her  Sawney's  breast. 

^  Bute  was  a  Stuart,  with  numerous  kinsmen  to  promote. 


134  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [CH. 

Scotch  poverty  and  Scotland's  barrenness  form  the 
staple  of  the  poem,  but  wealthy  England  is  to  be 
placed  at  their  service  by  Bute's  "boundless 
power,  beyond  example  great." 

Once  he  began  to  write,  Churchill's  pen  was 
never  long  idle.  Hogarth  about  this  time  in- 
cluded a  take-oif  of  Wilkes  in  a  political  caricature, 
getting  the  likeness,  it  seems,  not  in  the  most 
delicate  manner.  Churchill  thereupon  took  up 
the  cudgels  for  his  patron  in  an  Epistle  to  the 
painter.  Some  of  his  most  effective  lines  describe 
the  incoming  of  Bute's  administration. 

Through  every  pannel  let  thy  virtue  tell 

How  Bute  prevail'd,  how  Pitt  and  Temple  fell ! 

How  England's  sons  (whom  they  conspired  to  bless, 

Against  our  will,  with  insolent  success) 

Approve  their  fall,  and  with  addresses  run, 

How  got,  God  knows,  to  hail  the  Scottish  sun? 

Point  out  our  fame  in  Avar,  when  vengeance  hurl'd 

From  the  strong  arm  of  Justice,  shook  the  world ; 

Thine,  and  thy  country's  honour  to  increase. 

Point  out  the  honours  of  succeeding  peace ; 

Our  moderation,  Christian-like,  display, 

Shew,  what  we  got,  and  what  we  gave  away ; 

In  colours,  dull  and  heavy  as  the  tale. 

Let  a  state-chaos  through  the  whole  prevail. 

Churchill  had  truth  to  help  him  here.  He  was 
not  always  so  fortunate.  His  next  satire.  The 
Duellist,  was  a  long,  virulent  attack  on  a  minor 
member  of  the  administration,  who  had  been 
grossly  insulted  by  Wilkes,  and  had  wounded  the 
latter  in  the  consequent  duel.  It  is  more  un- 
balanced in  its  overcharged  invective  than  the 
other  satires.    Of  Bishop  Warburton  he  says — 


IV]  MASON  AND  FALCONER  135 

Nor  did  one  spark  of  grace  appear, 
Not  one  dull,  dim  spark  in  his  soul ; 
Vice,  glorious  vice  possess'd  the  whole, 
And,  in  her  service  truly  warm. 
He  was  in  sin  most  uniform. 

It  was  an  age  of  savage  criticism,  Warburton 
being  an  offender  too ;  but  this  is  ridiculous 
surely.  However,  Churchill's  energy  is  there,  nor 
does  it  much  flag  in  his  succeeding  productions. 
But  they  grow  less  and  less  political  in  the  con- 
cluding months  of  his  life.  His  extraordinary 
fertility  continued  ;  even  though  his  works,  as 
Johnson  said,  were  only  crab-apples.  By  the  side 
of  the  great  satirists,  of  course,  he  cuts  a  poor 
figure  ;  but  he  is  a  burly  giant  beside  his  puny 
rivals  in  the  politics  of  the  early  reign  of  George  HI. 
Such  rivals  and  imitators  were  Mason  (1724- 
97)  and  Falconer  (1732-69),  one  a  WEig3he  other 
a  Tory.  Mason,  an  insipid  writer  of  eclogues,  odes 
and  tragedies,  veiled  his  personality  under  the 
pseudonym  of  Malcolm  MacGregor  for  the  purpose 
of  political  vituperation,  but  was  not  less  feeble 
for  the  change  of  name.  Falconer  would  be 
equally  unworthy  of  quotation,  did  not  some  lines 
of  his  summarize  the  defects  of  Pitt's  oratory  as 
they  seemed  to  the  Vere  de  Veres  of  the  day. 

Methinks  I  hear  the  bellowing  demagogue 
Dumb-sounding  declamations  disembogue. 
Expressions  of  immeasureable  length, 
Where  pompous  jargon  fills  the  place  of  strength ; 
Where  fulminating,  rumbling  eloquence 
With  loud,  theatric  rage  bombards  the  sense ; 
And  words,  deep-rank'd  in  horrible  array. 
Exasperated  metaphors  convey ! 

As  verse  or  prose  this  extract  is  below  criticism. 


136  THE  SATIRIC  AGE  [ch.  iv 

Chatterton  (1752-70),  too,  tried  his  versatile 
pen  at  political  satire.  In  his  serious  style  he  is 
merely  a  weaker  Churchill ;  but  some  genius,  I 
think,  appears  in  his  Constdiad,  a  description  in 
spirited  burlesque  of  a  fight  supposed  to  take 
place  over  a  ministerial  banquet  in  1770. 

The  fight  is  general ;  fowl  repulses  fowl ; 
The  victors  thunder,  and  the  vanquish'd  howl. 
Stars,  garters,  all  the  implements  of  show, 
That  deck'd  the  powers  above,  disgraced  below. 
Nor  swords,  nor  mightier  weapons  did  they  draw. 
For  all  were  well-acquainted  with  the  law. 

But  on  the  whole  we  have  arrived  at  the  un- 
honoured  senility  of  a  once  great  satiric  style. 
Verse  applied  to  practical,  aristocratic  life  had 
done  its  utmost,  and  the  truer  poets  of  the  day. 
Gray  and  Collins,  were  returning  by  however  trim 
and  box-edged  paths  to  regions  more  of  the  imagi- 
nation. Eclogue  and  didactic  poem,  Chloris  and 
Lydia  and  their  beribboned  swains,  were  indeed  to 
outlast  the  century,  but  none  the  less  the  Age  of 
China  and  Gilt  gave  tokens  of  its  approaching  fall. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT 

The  squabble  between  the  Court  and  Wilkes 
(for  in  spite  of  its  important  results  in  the  increased 
liberty  of  the  press  it  could  bear  no  more  dignified 
title)  ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  former.  Yet 
although  he  received  temporary  checks,  by  1770 
George  III  had  succeeded  in  his  main  object.  In 
that  year  Lord  North  held  the  Prime  Ministership, 
if  it  could  be  so  called  in  his  hands,  as  the  admitted 
dependent  of  the  Sovran.  So  far  as  power  went 
Bolingbroke's  Patriot  King  seemed  likely  to  come 
into  existence.  But  public  opinion  was  growing 
steadily  more  averse  to  the  system  of  government 
by  corruption,  on  which  the  King's  power,  like 
that  of  his  predecessors,  the  Whigs,  rested.  The 
inevitable  crisis  was  first  delayed  and  then  pre- 
cipitated by  the  American  revolt.  The  King's 
repressive  policy  was  on  the  whole  popular,  and  in 
any  case  a  life  and  death  struggle,  such  as  the  war 
turned  out  to  be,  was  not  likely  to  foster  intes- 
tine quarrels.     Such  of  course  existed  :  the  Whig 


138       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AJSTD  PITT      [ch. 

Opposition  was  for  the  revolted  Colonists,  whose 
principles  had  a  close  resemblance  to  their  own. 
But  they  only  became  of  first  importance  in  the 
later  years  of  the  war,  when  it  was  clear  that  the 
mother-country  had  lost  in  the  contest  and  was  in 
danger,  and  that  the  would-be  Patriot  King  had 
brought  disaster  on  the  state. 

Amid  the  vicissitudes  of  political  events  which 
followed  Lord  North's  fall,  two  achievements  of  the 
Whigs  stand  out  from  the  rest.  The  first  consisted 
in  the  Statutes  passed  by  the  Rockingham  ministry 
against  the  corrupt  influence  of  the  Crown  in 
Parliament  and  in  the  constituencies.  With  regard 
to  Parliament  they  almost  commenced  a  new  era  ; 
the  grosser  forms  of  corruption  were  put  an  end 
to.  The  constituencies  were  not  so  much  aflected, 
as  borough-owning  and  private  bribery  still  con- 
tinued. In  the  second  place  a  ministry  was  twice 
forced  on  the  King  by  the  majority  in  the  Commons. 
Thus  the  question  which  had  been  in  agitation  since 
1746  seemed  settled  by  1783  in  a  sense  adverse  to 
the  King.  The  Ministry  were  Parliament's  servants, 
not  his ;  and  at  the  same  time  his  means  of  in- 
fluencing Parliament  were  much  diminished.  But 
George  III  had  no  notion  of  surrender.  He  bent 
all  his  efforts  towards  expelling  from  office  the 
Portland  Ministry,  made  up  of  a  coalition  of  Fox's 
Whigs  and  North's  ex-Tories.  Their  unpopular 
bill  for  the  Government  of  India  offered  him  his 
opportunity.     By  flagrant  interference  he  induced 


v]  THE  ROLLIAD  139 

the  Lords  to  throw  it  out,  dismissed  the  Coalition, 
and  appointed  the  younger  Pitt  Prime  Minister. 
Contrary  to  expectation  the  youthful  statesman  of 
twenty-five  held  his  own  in  Parliament  against  the 
Coalition :  and  during  the  debates  a  further  con- 
stitutional problem  came  to  the  front.  Did  the 
ultimate  decision  in  a  dispute  between  the  branches 
of  the  legislature  lie  with  the  constituencies,  or  did 
they  give  full  powers  to  their  representatives  with- 
out appeal  ?  Pitt  held  by  the  former  doctrine,  and 
the  General  Election  of  1784  confirmed  it  by 
turning  decisively  for  the  King  against  the  Parlia- 
mentary majority  which  he  had  defied.  There  was 
a  host  of  unseated  Whigs,  known  for  the  future  as 
Fox's  Martyrs.  The  supremacy  of  the  constituencies 
was  established  for  good.  The  royal  prerogative 
of  choosing  the  ministry  was  to  be  lost  another 
day. 

It  was  the  wrath  of  the  defeated  Whigs,  which 
gave  birth  to  the  series  of  satires  known  as  the 
Rolliad  and  its  successors,  which  appeared  in  the 
course  of  1784  and  1785.  These  compositions  mark 
a  break  in  the  development  of  English  political 
poetry.  They  were  published  in  the  issues  of  a 
daily  paper,  and  the  fact  itself  reveals  the  greater 
organization  of  politics  and  their  gi*eater  interest  for 
the  general  public.  Other  changes  follow  this  one. 
The  old,  formal  literary  satire  with  its  prolonged 
invective  is  submerged  for  the  time.  The  new  style 
is  lively,  short  and  broken  ;  it  has  adopted  some  of 


140       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

the  features  of  ballad-satires.  Then  discussion  of 
principles  is  gone  too  :  the  writers  of  the  Rolliad 
confine  themselves  to  personalities,  and  the  latter 
are  as  malicious  and  often  as  dirty  as  any  of  those 
employed  by  their  predecessors.  The  fine  decorum, 
which  on  the  whole  marks  Dryden  and  Pope  and 
even  Churchill,  is  lost  by  these  active  politicians^^ 
Their  lower  tone  has  been  ascribed  to  the  absence 
of  principle  and  unscrupulousness  of  the  time.  It 
is  said  politics  had  become  factious.  But  it  may 
be  advanced  in  defence  of  the  authors  of  the 
Rolliad,  that  the  difference  in  principles  existing 
between  the  Whigs  and  Tories  was  very  clear.  It 
was  :  who  was  to  appoint  the  ministry,  King  or 
Parliament  ?  Now  the  nation  had  decided  for  the 
King,  and  the  Whigs  were  reduced  to  showing  his 
incompetence  for  the  responsibility,  which  they 
could  only  do  by  showing  the  incompetence  of  the 
persons  of  his  choice.  Hence  came  a  series  of 
personal  attacks  on  each  and  every  office-holder. 
That  their  assaults  are  often  unjust  is  incidental  to 
an  Opposition's  profession,  ever  since  Walpole's 
time  at  least.  That  they  were  often  indecent  and 
malignantly  personal,  is  doubtless  partly  due  to 
the  rage  of  defeat,  but  also  may  be  put  down  to 
the  licence  of  the  eighteenth  and  all  preceding 
centuries,  which  generally  appears  in  a  worse  light 
in  second-rate  authors,  such  as  the  writers  of  the 
Rolliad,  with  all  their  brilliance,  were. 

It  seems  that  a  group  of  lesser  Whigs  were  the 


V]  THE  ROLLIAD  141 

producers  of  these  celebrated  squibs.  Two,  General 
Richard  Fitzpatrick  and  Lord  John  Townshend, 
were  ex-Ministers.  George  Ellis  was  an  eminent 
man  of  letters.  Nor  were  the  other  allies  undis- 
tinguished. The  scandal  they  report  therefore  has 
some  authority  about  it,  and  rests  on  the  gossip  of 
the  inner  circle  of  politics.  That  being  so,  it  is 
surprising,  considering  how  things  had  been  a  few 
years  before,  how  little  they  have  to  say  against 
ministerial  corruption.  Warren  Hastings'  Indian 
administration  was  one  vulnerable  point,  Pitt's 
personal  continence  another,  while  the  dissolute 
life  and  stupidity  of  some  of  his  colleagues  furnish 
further  opportunities.  Yet  on  the  whole  even  the 
invective  of  the  Eolliad  testifies  to  the  higher 
standard  of  public  life  which  Rockingham  had 
established. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  the  Rolliad  was  the 
excitement  caused  by  the  unseating  of  Fox  at 
Westminster  in  consequence  of  a  rather  vindictive 
petition.  One  Tory  member,  Mr  Rolle  of  Devon, 
particularly  irritated  the  Opposition  by  his  inter- 
vention in  the  debate  which  followed  :  it  is  said  he 
was  already  in  disfavour  with  them  by  his  habit  of 
coughing  during  Burke's  speeches.  In  any  case 
his  insignificant  personality  was  taken  as  figure- 
head for  the  new  satire.  As  mentioned  above,  a 
novel  form  was  invented  for  the  occasion.  It  was 
feigned  that  an  epic  of  genius  had  just  appeared, 
dealing  with  the  fortunes  of  Rollo,  a  Norman  Duke, 


142       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

ancestor  of  Mr  Rolle,  and  from  time  to  time  the 
literary  enthusiasm  of  the  Whig  Morning  Post 
placed  excerpts  from  the  work,  with  criticisms, 
before  its  readers.  As  may  be  supposed,  the  events 
of  1784-5  necessitated  additions  to  the  epic,  which 
were  forthwith  chronicled  and  praised.  These 
political  passages  were  quoted  from  its  sixth  book — 
for  the  Rolliad  carefully  follows  the  Aeneid — 
where  Rollo  beholds  his  descendant  in  Parliament ; 
but  they  soon  had  to  be  supplemented  by  the  pro- 
phecy of  the  "dying  drummer"  (slain  at  Hastings) 
which  deals  more  especially  with  the  House  of 
Lords. 

This  was  the  method.  The  execution  is  often 
admirable.  Its  mocking  fun  (so  different  from  the 
tragedy-airs  of  Churchill)  may  be  seen  in  the 
character  of  Pitt,  the  marvellous  boy  of  politics. 
It  is  attributed  to  Ellis. 

Pert  without  fire,  without  experience  sage, 

Young  with  more  arts  than  Shelburne  glean'd  from  age, 

Too  proud  from  pilfer'd  greatness  to  descend, 

Too  humble  not  to  call  Dundas  his  friend. 

In  solemn  dignity  and  sullen  state. 

This  new  Octavius  rises  to  debate ! 

Mild  and  more  mild  he  sees  each  placid  row 

Of  Country  Gentlemen  with  rapture  glow ; 

He  sees  convulsed  with  sympathetic  throbs 

Apprentice-peers  and  deputy-Nabobs ! 

Nor  Rum-contractors  think  his  speech  too  long. 

While  words,  like  treacle,  trickle  from  his  tongue ! 

The  Minister's  peer-creating  propensities,  really  a 
substitute  for  pensions  and  the  like,  were  evidently 
known  already.    As  a  criticism  on  his  oratory  this 


V]  THE  ROLLIAD  143 

passage  is  much  excelled  by  a  prose  comment 
elsewhere. 

"Longinus,  as  the  learned  well  know,  reckons  the  figure 
amplification  amongst  the  principal  sources  of  the  sublime,  as 
does  Quintilian  amongst  the  leading  requisites  of  rhetoric. 
That  it  constitutes  the  very  soul  of  eloquence,  is  demon- 
strable from  the  example  of  that  sublimest  of  all  orators  and 
profoundest  of  all  statesmen,  Mr  William  Pitt,  If  no  expedient 
had  been  devised,  by  the  help  of  which  the  same  idea  could 
be  invested  in  a  thousand  diff'erent  and  glittering  habihments, 
by  which  one  small  spark  of  meaning  could  be  inflated  into  a 
blaze  of  elocution,  how  many  delectable  speeches  would  have 
been  lost  to  the  Senate  of  Great  Britain  ?  How  severe  an  injury 
would  have  been  sustained  to  the  literary  estimation  of  the  age  ?" 

As  may  be  seen  from  this  specimen  the  prose  of 
the  Rolliad  must  be  taken  into  account  in  judging 
of  its  merits ;  for  it  is  not  infrequently  better 
than  the  verse. 

Besides  set  characters  like  that  of  Pitt,  the 
Rolliad  abounds  in  shorter  squibs  at  the  expense 
of  his  supporters.  Some  of  these  are  clownish 
enough,  like  that  on  Grenville's  head  :  but  there  is 
an  artistic  venom  in  the  assault  on  Dundas,  Pitt's 
intimate  friend : 

Whose  exalted  soul 
No  bonds  of  vulgar  prejudice  control. 
Of  shame  unconscious  in  his  bold  career. 
He  spurns  that  honour  which  the  weak  revere ; 
For  true  to  public  Virtue's  patriot  plan, 
He  loves  the  Minister  and  not  the  Man. 

Then  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  poor  Mr  Secretary 
Orde  or  Lord  Mulgrave  had  crueller  measure  meted 
out  to  him.     The  former  is  described  thus  : 

Tall  and  erect,  unmeaning,  mute  and  pale, 

O'er  his  blank  face  no  gleams  of  thought  prevail. 


144       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

while  as  to  the  latter's  speech — 

within  his  labouring  throat 
The  shrill  shriek  struggles  with  the  harsh,  hoarse  note. 

The  metrical  comedy  of  the  last  line  is  due  to  the 

learned  George  Ellis,  as  one  might  expect. 

Part  of  the  satire  is  retrospective,  and  refers  to 

the  personal  pressure  the  King  exercised  on  the 

Lords  to  make  them  reject  Fox's  India  Bill.     The 

Marquess  of  Buckingham,  then  Earl  Temple,  had 

been  the  King's  envoy  and  adviser  at  the  decisive 

moment ;   and  the  decorous  Whig  satirist  (Ellis) 

assigns  him  an  even  more  important  part  than  he 

played  in  fact. 

On  the  great  day,  when  Buckingham  by  pairs 
Ascended,  Heaven-impell'd,  the  K — 's  backstairs ; 
And  panting,  breathless,  strain'd  his  lungs  to  show 
From  Fox's  Bill  what  mighty  ills  would  flow: 
That  soon,  its  source  corrupt,  OpiniorCs  thread 
On  India  deleterious  streams  would  shed ; 
That  Hastings,  Munny  Begum,  Scott ^  must  fall, 
And  Pitt  and  Jenkinson^  and  Leadenhall ; 
Still  as  with  stammering  tongue  he  told  his  tale. 
Unusual  terrors  Brunswick's  heart  assail ; 
Wide  starts  his  white  wig  from  his  royal  ear. 
And  each  particular  hair  stands  stiff  with  fear. 

For  ironic  mock-heroics  it  would  be  difficult  to 
beat  the  Rolliad.  Of  its  humour  one  would  think 
the  apostrophe  (Fitzpatrick's)  to  the  Bishops,  who 
voted  steadily  Tory,  is  the  best  instance. 

You  reverend  prelates,  robed  in  sleeves  of  lawn, 
Too  meek  to  murmur,  and  too  proud  to  fawn. 
Who,  still  submissive  to  their  Maker's  nod. 
Adore  their  Sovran,  and  respect  their  God; 
And  wait,  good  men !  all  worldly  things  forgot, 
In  humble  hope  of  Enoch's  happy  lot. 

1  Hastings'  agent.  ^  Leader  of  King's  Friends. 


V]  THE  ROLLIAD'S  SEQUELS  145 

The  vogue  of  the  Rolliad  soon  wore  out,  but  not 
the  Whigs'  desire  for  revenge.  The  criticism  of  the 
epic  was  succeeded  by  a  series  oi  Political  Eclogues, 
One  of  these,  The  Liars,  by  Fitzpatrick,  surpasses 
the  rest  in  point  and  in  the  virulence  of  its  wit. 
Two  Tory  underlings,  Dr  Prettyman,  a  clergyman, 
and  Banks,  a  member  of  Parliament,  strive,  like 
Corydon  and  Lacon,  in  Pitt's  presence,  each  ex- 
tolling his  own  variety  of  lie. 

Banks.        O  witless  lout!  in  lies  that  touch  the  state, 

We,  Country  Gentlemen,  have  far  more  weight ; 
Fiction  from  us  the  public  still  must  gull ; 
They  think  we're  honest,  as  they  know  we're  dull. 


Prettyman.  How  smooth,  persuasive,  plausible  and  glib. 
From  holy  lips  is  dropp'd  the  specious  fib! 
Which,  whisper'd  slily,  in  its  dark  career 
Assails  with  art  the  unsuspecting  ear. 

Banks.        How  clear,  convincing,  eloquent  and  bold, 

The  bare-faced  lie,  with  manly  courage  told ! 
Which,  spoke  in  public,  falls  with  gi'eater  force 
And,  heard  by  hundreds,  is  believed  of  course. 

There  is  a  kind  of  impersonal,  cynical  wisdom 
here,  besides  personal  malice.  Fitzpatrick  was  an 
old  Parliamentary  hand. 

Irresponsible  gaiety  marks  another  Eclogue. 
George  III  has  not  been  killed  by  Margaret 
Nicholson,  and  Lord  Hawkesbury  (late  Jenkinson, 
leader  of  the  King's  Friends)  rejoices. 

Hence,  dire  illusions !  dismal  scenes  away — 

Again  he  cries,  "What,  what!"  and  all  is  gay. 

Come,  Brunswick,  come,  great  king  of  loaves  and  fishes ; 

Be  bounteous  still  to  grant  us  all  our  wishes ! 

The  same  spirit  of  fun  dominates  in  the  next 

o.  10 


146       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

effort  of  the  Rolliad-clique,  The  Probationary 
Odes  for  the  Laiireateship,  which  just  then 
happened  to  be  vacated.  That  attributed  to 
Major  John  Scott,  M.P.,  Hastings'  agent,  is  one 
of  the  more  playful : 

Grand  is  thy  form, — 'bout  five  feet  ten, 
Thou  well-built,  worthiest,  best  of  men ! 
Thy  chest  is  stout,  thy  back  is  broad, — 
Thy  pages  view  thee  and  are  awed ! 

Lo  I  how  thy  white  eyes  roll ! 

Thy  whiter  eyebrows  stare ! 
Honest  soul ! 

Thou'rt  witty^  as  thou'rt  fair! 

It  must  be  admitted  that  this  was  a  mild  revenge 
for  its  author,  Townshend,  to  take  for  George's 
intrigues ;  but  it  was  none  the  less  deadly,  for  it 
pointed  the  criticism:  was  Farmer  George  fit  to 
govern  England? 

Another  ode,  purporting  to  be  written  by 
Viscount  Mountmorres,  really  by  Fitzpatrick, 
reminds  us  of  the  elder  Tickell  on  the  High- 
landers. There  is  the  same  pleasantry  and  the 
same  contempt  for  the  Kelt,  this  time  the  Irish 
Volunteers. 

Full  fifty  thousand  men  we  show 
All  in  our  Irish  manufactures  clad, 

Whaling,  manoeuvring  to  and  fro, 
And  marching  up  and  down  like  mad. 
In  Fradom's  holy  cause  the  bellow,  rant  and  rave. 
And  scorn  themselves  to  know  what  they  themselves 
would  have ! 

The  Odes  practically  close  the  satires  connected 
with  the  RoUiady  for  we  need  not  delay  over  the 
more  trivial  and  viler  Miscellanies.    The  whole 


V]  PETER  PINDAR  147 

series  holds  a  peculiar  position.  In  political  ^ 
literature  they  started  a  new  and  flippant  style, 
and  we  have  every  reason  to  be  thankful  that 
they  drove  sham-solemnity,  sham- virtue  and  sham- 
heroics  off*  the  stage.  But  politically  they  were 
the  most  ineflectual  of  productions.!  The  King 
and  Minister  remained  in  power.  In  essence  they 
were  only  a  protest  against  a  fait  accompli.  So 
for  their  own  day  they  were  no  better  than 
brilliant  fireworks,  and  in  ours  they  are  fireworks 
extinguished.  The  reason  partly  lies  in  their 
malign  scurrility.  The  great  minister  they  at- 
tacked stands  cold  in  marble  beneath  the  coloured 
light  in  the  Guildhall.  What  do  we  want  with  the 
refuse  that  was  flung  at  him  by  angry  rivals  ?  In 
his  subordinates  we  feel  little  interest,  and  we  are 
inclined  to  disbelieve  the  slanders  of  political 
warfare.  To  conclude,  the  fate  of  the  Rolliad 
shows  once  more  the  disadvantage  in  literature 
of  a  lack  of  magnanimity. 

Although  the  circle  that  produced  the  Rolliad 
fell  asunder,  a  small  shred  of  their  mantle  fell  on  a 
succeeding  unitary  bard.  The  Rev.  John  Wolcott 
(1738 — 1819),  better  known  by  his  pseudonym  of 
Peter  Pindar,  was  a  man  far  more  discreditable 
ttTTiis  cloth  than  honest  Churchill  was.  Peter's 
object  in  life  was  to  make  a  comfortable  living, 
and  his  tastes  in  life  were  low.  However,  after 
many  attempts  he  "struck  oil."  He  was  a  born 
humourist  and  the  very  best  of  English  carica- 

10—2 


148        THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [CH. 

turists  in  verse.  He  found  his  talent  in  a  satire 
on  the  Royal  Academicians  of  his  time,  and  from 
that  theme  was  easily  led  on  to  scoff  at  their 
patron,  the  King.  To  do  him  justice,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  he  was  a  good  judge  of  painting,  and 
that  the  King  was  not.  Perhaps  he  took  his  cue 
from  the  Rolliad — it  was  in  1785  that  he  fastened 
on  his  royal  victim — for  one  or  two  pieces  in  that 
collection  show  a  similar  vein  of  parody.  But  if 
so  he  bettered  his  model.  His  motive  seems 
merely  to  have  been  the  fact  that  there  was  a 
good  sale  for  squibs  on  royalty,  especially  among 
the  indignant  Whigs.  Then,  too,  George  Ill's 
oddities  of  speech  and  action  furnished  a  tempting 
opportunity.  So  Peter  set  to  work  and  joyfully 
exploited  the  echoes  of  the  servants'  hall  at 
Windsor. 

His  first  attempt,  the  Lousiad,  is  a  rather 
wearisome  mock-heroic  poem,  but  Ode  upon  Ode, 
a  counterblast  to  the  Laureate's  yearly  per- 
formance, shows  him  at  his  best  in  sportive, 
yet  ungenial  caricature.  One  passage  is  justly 
celebrated : 

To  whom^  a  certain  sage  so  earnest  cried, 

"Don't  mind, — don't  mind— the  rogues  their  aim  have 
miss'd — 
Don't  fear  your  place,  whilst  I  am  well  supplied — 
But  mind,  mind  poverty  of  the  Civil  List. 

"  Swear  that  no  K — g's  so  poor  upon  the  globe ; 
Compare  me — yes,  compare  me  to  poor  Job. 
The  House  will  credit  thee — I  know  the  ninnies, 
And  wife  and  I  are  fond  of  bags  of  guineas. 

1  Pitt. 


V]  PETER  PINDAR  149 

"What?  WTiat,  Pitt— hae  ?    We  must  have  t'other  grant. 
What,  what  ?    You  know,  Pitt,  that  my  old,  dead  Aunt, 
Left  not  a  sixpence,  Pitt,  these  eyes  to  bless, 
But  from  the  parish  saved  that  fool  at  Hefese. 

"But  mind  me — hae,  to  plague  her  heart  when  dying, 
I  was  a  constant  hunter — Nimrod  still ; 

And  when  in  state  as  dead's  a  mackerel  lying, 
I  cared  not,  for  I  knew  the  Woman's   tVilL 

"And  three  days  after  my  old  Aunt  was  dead. 

Which  some  folks  thought  prodigiously  profane, 

I  took  it — yes — I  took  it  in  my  head, 

To  order  Sir  John  Brute  at  Drury  Lane. 

"Had  she  respected  me,  I  do  aver, 

I  should  have  stay'd  at  home  and  thought  of  her." 

It  will  be  seen  that,  though  Wolcott's  motives 
were  basely  private,  his  satire  had  a  distinctly 
public  trend.  George  Ill's  demands  for  money  to 
pay  the  debts  of  his  Civil  List  were  rendered  all 
the  more  remarkable  by  the  narrow  economy  of 
the  Royal  Household.  In  fact  the  money  went  in 
corruption.  The  King  took  a  keen  interest  in 
elections,  and,  while  parsimonious  in  his  personal 
expenses,  made  the  country  provide  for  the  bribery 
of  its  constituencies.  But  what  George  III  gained 
in  this  way  he  partly  lost  through  his  consequent 
reputation  for  avarice,  in  which  the  Queen,  who  of 
course  shared  specially  in  the  smaller  economies, 
took  mdre  than  her  fair  share  of  blame.  And  in 
truth  both  the  royal  pair  made  their  savings  with 
manifest  enjoyment. 

Peter  Pindar  did  not  confine  himself  to  parody ; 
but  he  excelled  rather  in  humour  than  in  wit,  and 
few  isolated  passages  are  worth  citing.  Still  his 
character  of  Charles  II  is  excellent  and  even  wise. 


150       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

giving  through  a  kind  of  sympathy  the  secret  of 
that  monarch's  popularity. 

As  for  John  Dryden's  Charles — that  King 

Indeed  was  never  any  mighty  thing — 
He  merited  few  honours  from  the  pen — 

And  yet  he  was  a  devihsh  hearty  fellow, 

Enjoyed  his  girl  and  bottle — and  got  mellow — 
And  mind — kept  company  with  gentlemen. 

The  last  stab  at  George  III  comes  with  a  witty 

surprise ;    but  it  has,  and  this  is  frequent  with 

Wolcott,  more  the  substance  than  the  form  of  wit. 

You  must  know  the  surrounding  circumstances  to 

appreciate  it.    No  one  was  so  good  at  conveying  a 

gesture  in  words  as  Peter  ;  but  a  gesture  in  itself 

is  a  mere  contortion.    He  could,  however,  scoff  as 

smartly  as  a  Restoration  wit.     The  following  is  a 

specially  good,  if  rather  learned  instance,  the  short 

last  line  enforcing  the  climax  : 

But  p'rhaps  aloft  on  his  imperial  throne. 
So  distant,  0  ye  Gods,  from  every  one; 
The  royal  virtues  are,  like  many  a  star. 
From  this  our  pigmy  system  rather  far; 
Whose  light,  though  flying  ever  since  creation, 
Hath  not  yet  pitch'd  upon  our  nation. 

Even  here  the  general  conception,  so  skilfully 

brought  out  by  one  or  two  sly  colloquial  words 

among  the  mots  nobles  of  the  eighteenth  century, 

is  what  we  most  laugh  at,   and  Peter  Pindar's 

political  masterpiece  is,  I  think,  to  be  found  in  a 

piece  of  broad  comedy,  Gillray  in  verse, — the  King 

at  Whitbread's  brewery : 

Now  Mr  Whitbread,  serious,  did  declare, 

To  make  the  Majesty  of  England  stare, 

That  he  had  butts  enough,  he  knew. 

Placed  side  by  side,  would  reach  along  to  Kew. 


v]  PETER  PINDAR  151 

On  which  the  King  with  wonder  swiftly  cried, 
"What  if  they  reach  to  Kew  then,  side  by  side, 

What  would  they  do,  what,  what,  placed  end  to  end?" 
To  whom,  Avith  knitted,  calculating  brow, 
The  Man  of  Beer  most  solemnly  did  vow, 

Almost  to  Windsor  that  they  would  extend; 
On  which  the  King  with  wondering  mien, 
Repeated  it  unto  the  wondering  Queen. 

From  these  mock-heroics  on  the  inanity  of  con- 
versation-making, Peter  proceeds  to  a  rollicking 
imitation  (parody  was  hardly  needed)  of  the  royal 
manner : 

Now  did  his  Majesty  so  gracious  say 
To  Mr  Whitbread  in  his  flying  way, 

"  Whitbread,  d'ye  nick  the  exciseman  now  and  then  1 
Hae,  Whitbread,  when  d'ye  think  to  leave  off  trade  ? 
Hae,  what?    Miss  Whitbread's  still  a  maid,  a  maid? 

What,  what's  the  matter  with  the  men? 

"D'ye  hunt? — hae,  hunt?    No,  no,  you  are  too  old — 
You'll  be  Lord  Mayor — Lord  Mayor  one  day — 

Yes,  yes,  I've  heard  so, — yes,  yes,  so  I'm  told: 
Don't,  don't  the  fine  for  sheriff  pay — 

I'll  prick  you  every  year,  man,  I  declare ; 

Yes,  Whitbread— yes,  yes, — you  shall  be  Lord  Mayor. 

"Whitbread,  d'ye  keep  a  coach  or  job  one,  pray? 

Job,  job,  that's  cheapest — yes,  that's  best,  that's  best — 
You  put  your  liveries  on  your  draymen — hae  ? 

Hae,  Whitbread  ? — You  have  feather'd  well  your  nest  ? 
What  is  the  price,  now,  hae,  of  all  your  stock  ? 
But,  Whitbread,  what's  o'clock,  pray,  what's  o'clock?" 

It  would  seem  that  no  reverence  or  popularity 
could  survive  such  a  storm  of  ridicule,  and  indeed 
the  King's  were  damaged  for  a  time  ;  and  Wolcott 
refused  a  pension  which  was  proffered  to  buy  him 
off.  But  he  overshot  the  mark.  He  added  dull 
invective  to  his  fun.  The  very  success  of  his  satire 
made  the  King  more  careful  in  offending  public 
opinion,  and  the  tide  quite  turned  on  the  occasion 


152       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

of  his  madness  in  1788.  An  excuse  was  thus  pro- 
vided for  his  eccentricities,  while  the  conduct,  then, 
before  and  after,  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  made  the 
nation  disgusted  with  the  hope  of  the  Whigs. 
Peter  Pindar's  forecast  lost  verisimilitude. 

Behold !  the  sceptre  young  Augustus  sways ; 

1  hear  the  mingled  praise  of  millions  rise ; 

I  see  upraised  to  Heaven  their  ardent  eyes ; 
That  for  their  monarch  ask  a  length  of  days. 

George  III  was  at  least  a  decent  man,  with 
principles,  who  took  life  seriously.  Then  his  choice 
of  a  Prime  Minister  was  proved  to  be  good  by  events. 
^  For  the  first  time  a  Hanoverian  monarch  had 
^  achieved  a  real  and  overwhelming  popularity. 
Wolcott,  it  is  true,  recommenced  his  attacks  at  a 
later  date,  after  a  fresh  break-down  in  a  negotiation 
for  a  pension  ;  but  he  was  finally  snuffed  out  by 
the  mightier  satire  of  the  Anti- Jacobin. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  period  of  years, 
which  could  not  with  some  justice  be  named  an 
era  of  transition.  The  new  is  always  appearing, 
developing  and  supplanting  the  old.  But  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth centuries  have  an  unusual  claim  to  the 
appellation.  The  older  framework  of  society  did 
indeed  break  up  over  a  large  part  of  Europe,  and 
new  was  substituted  ;  nor  could  any  amount  of 
restoration  alter  the  fact.  The  great  engine  in 
this  work  of  destruction  and  renovation  was  the 
French  Revolution.  Even  in  England,  where  the 
Industrial  Revolution  had  more  immediate  practi- 


V]  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  153 

cal  results,  the  French  upheaval  was  more  creative 
in  its  influence  on  ideas.  That  and  its  after-move- 
ments aftected  English  literature  and  thought  to 
an  extraordinary  degree,  and  even  its  political 
effbcts,  obscurer  and  partly  proceeding  as  they 
did  by  way  of  reaction  and  indirect  consequence, 
have  coloured  subsequent  history.  It  is  true  that 
the  share  of  the  French  in  the  origin  of  the  separate 
ideas  they  did  so  much  to  propagate  can  easily  be 
exaggerated.  They  did  not  invent  the  notions  of 
personal  and  political  liberty  for  tlie  modern  world : 
these  had  been  put  into  practice  in  England  and 
the  United  States  already.  Equality  was  the  watch- 
word of  Joseph  II  of  Austria.  Then  the  Industrial 
Revolution  which  had  so  much  influence  on  the  later 
development  of  the  Revolutionary  creed  had  its 
home  in  Great  Britain.  But  the  French  added  the 
tenet  of  Fraternity  with  its  satellites  of  cosmo- 
politanism and  national  solidarity  ;  and  they  made 
the  whole  into  a  kind  of  religion.  This  was  indeed 
new  to  the  sceptical  eighteenth-century  with  its 
society  cleft  by  secular  fissures.  One  might  con- 
clude perhaps  that  a  religion  was  necessary  to 
mankind,  and  that,  incredulous  of  all  the  faiths 
they  knew,  they  made  a  religion  of  politics. 

There  is  no  need  to  rehearse  here  the  cata- 
clysms of  the  years  following  1789,  but  two  aspects 
of  events  have  to  be  noted.  First,  that  France 
became  a  violently  aggressive  state,  making  her 
wars  in  the  name  of  the  Revolutionary  propaganda. 


154       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

Secondly,  that  propaganda  made  some  converts  in 
Great  Britain.  Thus  England  was  forced  into  hos- 
tilities in  self-defence  ;  and  found  herself  troubled 
with  internal  dissensions.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  the  Whigs  only  approved  of  part  of  the 
Jacobin's  proceedings  ;  but  there  were  also  under- 
lings, crack-brained  theorists,  industrial  agitators, 
who  admired  every  step  of  the  Revolution  and 
advocated  its  literal  repetition  in  England  without 
even  the  excuses  that  can  be  made  for  the  Reign 
of  Terror.  The  net  result  of  these  two  causes  was 
that  England's  resistance,  also,  to  the  Revolution, 
within  and  without,  had  a  semi-religious  emotional 
tendency.  Law,  established  order,  national  tra- 
dition and  institutions  now  found  their  devotees  ; 
and  in  England  these  were  aristocratic  traditions, 
tinged  with  monarchism.  The  greater  part  of  the 
English  oligarchy,  the  great  families,  the  country- 
squires,  even  the  merchants,  rallied  round  Pitt, 
prepared  to  resist  to  the  uttermost.  It  is  perhaps 
Pitt's  greatest  merit,  that  he  rose  to  the  occasion, 
and  held  out  for  only  such  a  peace  as  would  be 
permanent  for  Europe  and  secure  the  national 
growth  of  England  on  national  lines. 

But — in  this  very  unlike  their  opponents — the 
English  squires  were  mostly  voiceless,  and  the 
merit  of  creating  a  voice  for  them  is  mostly 
Canning's  (1770 — 1827),  the  future  Prime  Minister, 
then  a  brilliant  henchman  of  Pitt.  There  was  the 
Rolliad  to  point  the  way,  and  the  lively  variety  of 


V]  THE  ANTI-JACOBIN  155 

many  writers  of  talent  might  in  a  journalistic  age 
fill  the  place  of  a  genius  such  as  Dryden's.  This 
was  all  the  more  necessary  as  political  warfare  was 
itself  becoming  more  and  more  a  matter  of  rapid 
thrust  and  parry  in  Parliament  and  in  the  country. 
Thus  the  method  devised  for  the  propaganda  of 
the  new  Toryism  was  the  foundation  of  a  weekly 
newspaper,  The  Anti- Jacobin.  Besides  the  usual 
contents  of  a  journal,  the  new  publication  was 
especially  to  be  devoted  to  the  contradiction  of 
statements  by  the  other  side,  and  to  the  systematic 
ridicule  of  any  prominent  person  affected  to  the 
new  views,  to  the  new  heresy,  perhaps  one  should 
say.  In  consequence  the  A  nti-Jacohin  shares  some 
characteristics  of  theological  writings.  Its  satire 
and  polemic  are  raised  to  a  nobler  plane  by  the 
conviction  that  the  holiest  possessions  Cfend  the 
happiness  of  mankind  depend  on  the  Success  of 
the  cause  it  represents.  With  this  is  linked  the 
belief  that  its  opponents  are  criminals  or  madmen 
whom  good  men  must  oppose  on  any  subject  and 
on  any  ground,  however  remote  from  those  in  dis- 
pute. We  detect  in  reading  it  a  certain  bigotry 
and  a  certain  moral  fervour  unknown  to  the 
malicious  Rolliad, 

Its  editor  wasjjifford,  afterwards  editor  of  the 
Quarterly  Review  and  already  known  as  a  success- 
ful literary  satirist ;  but  its  mainstay  was  Canning 
himself,  Avho  contributed  by  far  the  best  of  the 
weekly  incidental  verse,  the  only  portion  of  the 


156       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

contents  which  falls  within  the  scope  of  the  pre- 
sent essay.  His  most  brilliant  lieutenants  were 
John  Hookham  Frere  and  George  Ellis,  the  latter 
of  whom  had  been  a  contributor  to  the  Rolliad 
before  he  became  a  supporter  of  Pitt  in  the  Whig 
secession  of  1794.  All  of  these  four  were  happy 
writers  of  correct  verse  ;  all  of  them  had  wit  and 
sense  and  conviction  and  the  fighting  instinct. 
The  latter  quality  was  by  no  means  the  least 
necessary,  for  the  times  of  1797  were  critical. 
Cash  payments  had  been  suspended  at  the  Bank 
of  England.  It  was  the  year  of  the  Mutiny  of  the 
seamen  at  the  Nore.  Ireland  was  seething  with 
discontent,  and  to  crown  all  the  French  arms  were 
gaining  one  success  after  another  on  the  Continent. 
Never  was  there  greater  need,  or  it  must  be  said 
greater  opportunity  to  rally  patriotic  opinion  and 
to  hearten  the  national  resistance. 

The  first  victims  of  the  Anti- Jacobin' s  poetical 
satire  were  the  members  of  the  Lake  School.  Most, 
if  not  all,  of  these  had  been  ardent  Revolutionaries, 
and  were  at  that  very  time  in  process  of  disillusion- 
ment. But  the  Anti-Jacobin  cared  little  for  their 
change  of  views,  if  it  knew  of  the  fact,  and,  besides, 
even  when  converted  they  were  constant  enemies 
of  Pitt,  who  had  warred  with  and,  as  they  thought, 
warped  the  development  of  their  beloved  republic. 
In  the  same  year  Coleridge  wrote  of  the  Prime 
Minister  in  a  fierce,  denunciatorv  eclogue.  Fire, 
Famine  and  Slaughter — 


V]  COLERIDGE  157 

Famine.        Whisper  it,  sister !  so  and  so  ! 

Ill  a  dark  hint,  soft  and  slow. 
Slaughter.      Letters  four  do  form  his  name — 

And  who  sent  you? 
Both.  The  same !  the  same ! 

Slaughter.      He  came  by  stealth,  and  unlock'd  my  den, 

And  I  have  drunk  the  blood  since  then 

Of  thrice  three  hundred  thousand  men. 
Both.  Who  bade  you  do't  ? 

Slaughter.  The  same !  the  same ! 

Letters  four  do  form  his  name. 

He  let  me  loose,  and  cried  Halloo ! 

To  him  alone  the  praise  is  due. 

In  spite  of  its  curious  poetic  charm,  some  re- 
taliation was  not  misplaced  for  this  kind  of  thing. 
The   verses    of   the   Lake   Poets,   too,  were  the 
accredited  productions  of  the  new,  strange  way 
of  thinking,  with  its  return  to  nature  and  revolt 
from  tradition.    Canning  with  great  shrewdness/ 
seized  on  the  weakest  of  the  school,  Southey,  who  s 
also  had   committed    the   crime   of  writing   the\^ 
democratic  tragedy  of  Wat  Tyler,     The   future^ 
Laureate   never   ceased   to   lay  himself  open  to 
criticism  by  a  singular  want  of  judgment  in  theme 
and  treatment,  but  he  further  betrayed  himself 
by  attempting  to  write  in  classic  metres,  Sapphics 
and  the  like.     He  did  not  try  to  do  much  more 
than    copy  the    rhythm,   but    even  that   modest 
ambition  had  no  success,  while  the  quantities  are 
capriciously  disarranged.  _One  of  Canning's  paro-  ^ 
dies  of  him  is  the  best  production  of  the  whole 
Anti- Jacobin,     It   is  the   classic    Needy  Knife- 
grinder.    The  verses  are  not  much  more  correct 
Sapphics  than  Southey's,  but  their  rhythm  goes 


158       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

better,  and  the  whole  turn  of  the  verse  harmonizes 
delightfully  with  the  satiric  humour  of  the  sense. 
Southey  was  not  substantial  enough  to  furnish  a 
full  subject  for  a  parody,  and  Canning  wisely  took 
the  opportunity  to  ridicule  all  the  favourite  phil- 
anthropic declamations  of  the  Revolutionaries.  So 
famous  a  composition  must  be  given  in  full  in 
spite  of  its  familiarity.  The  Friend  of  Humanity 
addresses  the  Knife-grinder : 

Needy  Knife-grinder!  Whither  are  you  going? 
Rough  is  the  road,  your  wheel  is  out  of  order — 
Bleak  blows  the  blast ;  your  hat  has  got  a  hole  in't, 
So  have  your  breeches! 

Weary  Knife-grinder!  little  think  the  proud  ones, 
Who  in  their  coaches  roll  along  the  turnpike- 
Road,  what  hard  work  'tis  crying  all  day  "Knives  and 
Scissors  to  grind  0 ! " 

Tell  me.  Knife-grinder,  how  you  came  to  grind  knives  ? 
Did  some  rich  man  tyrannically  use  you? 
Was  it  the  squire  ?  or  parson  of  the  parish  ? 
Or  the  attorney? 

Was  it  the  squire,  for  killing  of  his  game  ?  or 
Covetous  parson,  for  his  tithes  distraining? 
Or  roguish  lawyer,  made  you  lose  your  little 
All  in  a  lawsuit? 

(Have  you  not  read  the  Rights  of  Man,  by  Tom  Paine  ?) 
Drops  of  compassion  tremble  on  my  eyelids, 
Ready  to  fall,  as  soon  as  you  have  told  your 
Pitiful  storj% 

The  Knife-grinder  replies — 

Story !  God  bless  you !    I  have  none  to  tell,  sir, 
Only  last  night  a-drinking  at  the  Chequers, 
This  poor  old  hat  and  breeches,  as  you  see,  were 
Torn  in  a  scuffle. 

Constables  came  up  for  to  take  me  into 
Custody ;  they  took  me  before  the  Justice ; 
Justice  Oldmixon  put  me  in  the  parish- 
Stocks  for  a  vasrrant 


V]  THE  ANTI-JACOBIN  159 

I  should  be  glad  to  drink  your  Honour's  health  in 
A  pot  of  beer,  if  you  will  give  me  sixpence ; 
But  for  my  part  I  never  love  to  meddle 
With  politics,  sir. 

Friend  of  Humanity : 

I  give  thee  sixpence !  I  will  see  thee  damn'd  first — 
Wretch !  whom  no  sense  of  wrongs  can  rouse  to  vengeance — 
Sordid,  unfeeling,  reprobate,  degraded, 
Spiritless  outcast! 

[Kicks  the  Knife-grinder,  overturns  his  wheel,  and  exit 
in  a  transport  of  Republican  enthusiasm  and  universal  philan- 
thropy.] 

The  humour  of  the  Needy  Knife-grinder  is  of 
that  fine  variety  which  does  not  depend  on  place 
and  time  ;  yet  I  think  it  owes  some  of  its  present 
charm  to  the  aroma  of  old-fashioned  scholarship 
that  lingers  round  it,  suggestive  of  the  bare 
mahogany  and  conversation  over  "  the  walnuts  and 
the  wine.". \ 

But  such  playful  scorn  was  not  the  habitual 
temper  of  the  Anti-Jacohin.  Its  more  permanent 
attitude  is  well  shown  in  Lord  Morpeth's  translation 
of  some  fine  Latin  hexameters  on  France  by  the 
future  Marquess  Wellesley. 

Where'er  her  banners  float  in  barbarous  pride, 
Where'er  her  conquest  rolls  its  sanguine  tide, 
There  the  fair  fabric  of  establish'd  law'. 
There  social  order,  and  religious  awe, 
Sink  in  the  general  wreck;  indignant  there 
Honour  and  Virtue  fly  the  tainted  air; 
Fly  the  mild  duties  of  domestic  life 
That  cheer  the  parent,  that  endear  the  wife. 
The  lingering  pangs  of  kindred  grief  assuage. 
Or  soothe  the  sorrows  of  declining  age. 

These  lines  are  spirited  and  felt,  if  they  have  not 
the  terseness  of  their  original. 


160       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [CH. 

The  purpose  of  the  Anti- Jacobin  was  far  from 
being  confined  to  a  merely  political  satire.  The 
social  and  literary  theories  which  went  along  with 
the  Revolutionary  tendency  were  equally  attacked 
by  it.  The  English  Lake  Poets,  as  we  have  seen, 
suffered  in  Southey's  person.  But  much  more 
obnoxious  to  the  defenders  of  the  old  order  were 
the  English  Revolutionary  PhilosopheSy  such  as 
Payne  Knight,  who  pursued  a  very  pallid  light  of 
Reason  among  tame  eighteenth-century  couplets, 
and  the  German  proto-Romanticists,  like  Goethe, 
Schiller  and  their  followers,  who,  freeing  themselves 
from  classic  French  conventions  and  traditions, 
indulged  occasionally  in  works,  the  moral  and 
artistic  principles  of  which  bordered  on  the  fan- 
tastic. The  influence  of  the  German  Romanticists, 
epoch-making  for  Europe  as  it  was,  became  indeed 
most  fruitful  for  good  in  English  literature  later, 
when  it  had  passed  through  the  work  of  Scott  with 
its  peculiar  moral  sanity,  and  when  it  had  combined 
with  the  thoroughly  national  movement  of  the  Lake 
Poets.  But  those  developments  were  still  to  come 
in  1797 ;  and  Canning's  verses  The  Progress  of 
Man,  which  ridiculed  Payne  Knight's  didactic  style, 
and  the  play  of  The  Movers,  offspring  of  several 
hands,  which  performed  the  same  office  for  the 
wilder  German  drama,  will  gain  the  sympathy  of 
most  readers  of  poetry.  Canning  laments,  some- 
what after  Rousseau,  the  way  Man  has  deserted 
his  "  state  of  nature," 


V]  THE  ANTI-JACOBIN  161 

Ah!  who  has  seen  the  mailed  lobster  rise, 
Clap  her  broad  wings,  and  soaring  claim  the  skies? 
When  did  the  owl,  descending  from  her  bow'r. 
Crop,  'midst  the  fleecy  flocks,  the  tender  flow'r; 
Or  the  young  heifer  plunge,  with  pliant  linib. 
In  the  salt  wave,  and  fish-like  strive  to  swim? 

The  same  with  plants — potatoes  'tatoes  breed — 
Uncostly  cabbage  springs  from  cabbage-seed; 
Lettuce  to  lettuce,  leeks  to  leeks  succeed; 
Nor  e'er  did  cooling  cucumbers  presume 
To  flow'r  like  myrtle,  or  like  violets  bloom. 
— Man  only — rash,  refined,  presumptuous  man, 
Starts  from  his  rank,  and  mars  creation's  plan. 
Born  the  free  heir  of  nature's  wide  domain, 
To  art's  strict  limits  bounds  his  narrow'd  reign; 
Resigns  his  native  rights  for  meaner  things. 
For  faith  and  fetters — laws,  and  priests,  and  kings. 

In  the  same  delightful  vein  the  associates  of  the 
Anti-Jacohin  make  an  assault  on  another  didactic 
poet  of  the  day,  Mr  Darwin.  This  otherwise  for- 
gotten writer  has  been  actually  preserved  to 
memory  by  the  parody^,  like  a  fly  in  amber.  But 
the  very  celebrity  of  the  mocking  Loves  of  the 
Triangles,  taken  together  with  its  non-political 
character,  prevents  quotation  from  it  here.  Only 
I  may  cite  its  last  lines,  political  and  not  so  familiar 
as  the  rest. 

Ye  Sylphs  of  Death!   on  demon  pinions  flit 
Where  the  tall  guillotine  is  raised  for  Pitt: 
To  the  poised  plank  tie  fast  the  monster's  back, 
Close"  the  nice  slider,  ope  the  expectant  sack; 
Then  twitch,  with  fairy  hands,  the  frolic  pin — 
Down  falls  the  impatient  axe  with  deafening  din; 
The  liberated  head  rolls  oflf  below. 
And  simpering  Freedom  hails  the  happy  blow. 

There  is  a  gruesome  realism  under  the  mockery, 
which  reminds  us  that  these  men  had  lived  through 

1  Hannay,  "English  Political  Satires,"  Quarterly  Eevt««?,  1857. 
o.  11 


162       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [ch. 

the  Terror  and  might  well  ask  if  any  good  thing 
could  come  from  France. 

The  extravaganza  of  The  Rovers  indulges  in  a 
lighter  raillery,  all  the  absurdities  of  the  German 
drama  being  heaped  together  skilfully  enough,  but 
Goethe  and  Schiller  have  an  interest  with  us  which 
Darwin  has  not,  and  it  is  not  so  easy  to  sympathize 
perfectly  with  the  derisive  and  not  wholly  unjus- 
tifiable jeers  with  which  they  were  greeted  by  the 
Anti-Jacobin.  That  journal,  however,  was  near 
its  end  in  its  original  form.  Its  work  was  accom- 
plished. Its  personalities  and  licence,  though  in 
the  verse  they  are  far  less  than  those  of  the  Eolliadj 
thirteen  years  before,  were  giving  ofibnce.  It  was 
as  well  too  sparkling  for  a  rising  English  states- 
man to  be  connected  with.  Pitt  saw  the  time  had 
come  to  discontinue  it,  and  it  accordingly  ceased 
to  exist  as  a  ministerial  production. 

Before  its  career  closed,  Canning  and  his  friends 
discharged  a  final  broadside  in  The  Neiv  Morality. 
Unlike  its  predecessors,  this  piece  is  a  set  satire  in 
the  manner  of  Pope  and  Churchill.  Of  course  it  is 
inferior  to  the  former's  productions,  and  it  is  in 
genera]  more  prosaic  than  the  latter's.  Yet  it  has 
a  wit  and  humour  and  ardour  of  conviction  that 
raise  it  above  such  compositions  as  Churchill  and 
his  followers  could  achieve.  What  a  telling  scorn 
is  that  expressed  for  those  Whigs,  like  Fox,  who 
were  little  disturbed  by  patriotic  bias  ! 


V]  THE  ANTI-JACOBIN  163 

No  narrow  bigot  he; — his  reason'd  view 

Thy  interests,  England^  ranks  with  thine,  Peru\ 

France  at  our  doors,  he  sees  no  danger  nigh, 

But  heaves  for  Turkey's  woes  th'  impartial  sigh; 

A  steady  patriot  of  the  world  alone, 

The  friend  of  every  country — but  his  own. 

Even  this  is  excelled  by  the  triumphant  scorn 

poured  on  the  Lake  Poets  and  their  sensibility, 

while  perhaps  the  most  famous  lines  of  all  are 

those  which  describe  the  crossbencher  and  the 

impartial  historian. 

"Much  may  be  said  on  both  sides." — Hark !   I  hear 
A  well-known  voice  that  murmurs  in  my  ear, — 
The  voice  of  Candour. — Hail!  most  solemn  sage. 
Thou  drivelling  virtue  of  this  moral  age, 
Candour,  which  softens  party's  headlong  rage. 
Candour, — which  spares  its  foes;— nor  e'er  descends 
With  bigot  zeal  to  combat  for  its  friends. 
Candour,  which  loves  in  see-saw  strain  to  tell 
Of  acting  foolishly^  but  meaning  well-, 
Too  nice  to  praise  by  wholesale,  or  to  blame, 
Convinced  that  all  men's  motives  are  the  same; 
And  finds  with  keen,  discriminating  sight. 
Black's  not  so  black; — nor  white  so  very  white. 

"Fox,  to  be  sure,  was  vehement  and  wrong: 
But  then,  Pitt's  words,  you'll  own,  were  rather  strong. 
Both  must  be  blamed,  both  pardon'd;  'twas  just  so 
With  Fox  and  Pitt  full  forty  years  ago! 
So  Walpole,  Pulteney; — factions  in  all  times 
Have  had  their  follies,  ministers  their  crimes." 

Give  me  th'  avowed,  th'  erect,  the  manly  foe, 
Bold  1  can  meet — perhaps  may  turn  his  blow; 
But  of  all  plagues,  good  Heaven,  thy  wrath  can  send. 
Save,  saVe,  oh!   save  me  from  the  Candid  Friend! 

"Barras  loves  plunder.  Merlin  takes  a  bribe, — 
What  then! — Shall  Candour  these  good  men  proscribe? 
No!   ere  we  join  the  loud-accusing  throng, 
Prove, — not  the  facts, — but  that  they  thought  them  wrong. 

"Why  hang  O'Quigley?— He,  misguided  man, 
In  sober  thought  his  country's  weal  might  plan : 
And  while  his  deep-wrought  Treason  sapp'd  the  throne. 
Might  act  from  taste  in  morals^  all  his  own." 

No  one,  I  think,  would  deny  that  Canning's  Muse 

11—2 


164       THE  DAYS  OF  FOX  AND  PITT      [CH. 

was  robust,  and  perhaps  he  pronounces  the  general 
judgment  of  men  on  the  half-hearted  and  those  who 
attempt  the  thankless  task  of  disturbing  Truth  in 
her  lonely  meditations.  The  lines  were  long  a 
common-place  and  furnished  the  subject  for  a 
famous  passage-at-arms  between  Peel  and  Disraeli 
But  one  likes  to  think  of  Canning  in  connection 
with  feelings  and  views  more  out  of  date.  He  is 
one  of  those  men  who  gain  by  being  strictly  kept 
amid  the  surroundings  of  their  time.  As  we  have 
seen,  there  was  no  philosophic  detachment  in  him ; 
he  was  full  of  insular  patriotism,  and  gives  noble 
expression  to  it  in  the  concluding  lines  of  The  New 
Morality. 

Guard  we  but  our  own  Hearts:  with  constant  view 
To  ancient  morals,  ancient  manners  true; 
True  to  the  manlier  virtues,  such  as  nerved 
Our  fathers'  breasts,  and  this  proud  Isle  preserved 
For  many  a  rugged  age:  and  scorn  the  while 
Each  philosophic  atheist's  specious  guile; 
The  soft  seductions,  the  refinements  nice, 
Of  gay  Morality  and  easy  Vice; 
So  shall  we  brave  the  storm;  our  'stablish'd  pow'r 
Thy  refuge,  Europe,  in  some  happier  hour. 
But  French  in  heart,  though  Victory  crown  our  brow, 
Low  at  our  feet  though  prostrate  nations  bow. 
Wealth  gild  our  cities.  Commerce  crowd  our  shore, 
London  may  shine,  but  England  is  no  more! 

Though  Canning's  Anti-Jacobin  ceased,  there 

was  a  continuance  of  Tory  productions  of  the  same 

kind  for  some  years.    To  judge  from  the  specimens 

given  by  Mr  Edmonds  ^  they  were  written  with  an 

ever  increasing  vulgarity  and  virulence  of  bigotry. 

English  politics  were  coming  under  the  guidance 

1  The  Poetry  of  the  Anti-Jacobin,  third  edition,  1890. 


V]  SCOTT  165 

of  smaller  men  than  Fox  and  Pitt.  The  national 
energies,  too,  were  absorbed  in  the  war.  Then 
Napoleon's  despotism  had  confused  the  issues.  It 
was  no  longer  a  question  of  popular  rights  and  the 
millennium  versus  tradition  and  aristocracy,  but  of 
a  national  struggle  against  an  aggressive  world- 
empire.  Thus  the  best  conditions  for  effective 
political  satire  were  wanting. 

Besides  the  Anti-Jacobin  succession,  there  are 
wrecks  of  decadent  ballads,  but  Scott's  Health  to 
Lord  Melville  is  the  composition  nearest  to  the 
great  style,  and  even  that  owes  its  chief  merit,  not 
to  any  depreciation  of  the  Whigs,  but  to  the  famous 
line  on  Pitt — but  lately  dead, 

Low  lies  the  pilot  that  weather'd  the  storm, 
and  after  all  the  phrase  was  Canning's. 


CHAPTER  YI 

MOORE,  PRAED  AND  THE  MODERN  MOCKERY 
IN  RHYME 

In  the  year  1811  the  prospects  of  the  Whigs 
seemed  suddenly  to  brighten.  This  was  not  due  to 
public  feeling  or  to  the  course  of  the  war.  The 
nation  remained  stubbornly  anti-Napoleonic,  and 
the  monarchic  Tories  remained  firm  in  its  favour 
and  in  that  of  the  King.  And  if  the  Continental 
system  of  the  French  Emperor  put  a  severe  strain 
on  England's  resources,  her  fleet  was  supreme  on 
the  seas,  and  the  series  of  Peninsular  victories  had 
already  commenced.  But  in  181 1  George  III  finally 
lost  his  reason,  and  the  Whig  Prince  of  Wales  was 
soon  to  have  the  full  royal  authority  as  Regent. 
It  was  expected  that  he  would  place  his  friends  of 
the  Opposition  in  power,  and  that  they  would 
have  an  opportunity  of  governing  the  country  on 
principles,  both  freer  and  more  progressive  than 
those  of  the  Tories  in  general.  Great  was  to  be 
their  disappointment.  The  Prince  Regent  had 
probably  never  had  any  sincere  political  principles 


VI]  THE  REGENCY  167 

at  all,  and  his  position  in  1811-2  was  not  favourable 
for  a  radical  change  of  national  policy.  He  was 
locum  tenens  for  his  father,  and  George  HI  had 
already  twice  recovered  from  attacks  of  insanity. 
Then  Napoleon's  power  was  beginning  to  wane  and 
the  rule  of  the  Tories,  in  spite  of  various  blunders, 
was  being  more  and  more  justified  by  success. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  Prince  made  a  feeble 
tentative.  In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of 
York,  he  proposed  the  formation  of  a  coalition 
Cabinet  of  both  parties.  But  he  forgot,  if  he  had 
ever  realized  the  fact,  that  the  Whigs  had  grounds 
of  principle  for  desiring  office,  and  just  expectations 
of  obtaining  it  from  him.  Since  the  Union  with 
Ireland  Roman  Emancipation  had  become  a  pressing 
question,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  some  influential 
Tories  were  in  favour  of  the  measure  it  was  on  the 
whole  opposed  by  ministers  and  supported  by  the 
Opposition.  In  consequence,  the  Whig  leaders 
would  be  stultified  by  entering  an  administration 
of  dilated  Toryism ;  and  as  the  former  political 
confidants  of  the  Prince  Regent,  they  felt  insulted 
by  the  ofier  of  an  office  or  two.  The  final  result 
Was  that  Lord  Liverpool  became  Prime  Minister  in 
(1812  at  the  head  of  a  purely  Tory  Cabinet. 

Thus  the  Prince  Regent's  action  only  served  to 
accentuate  party-divisions.  The  Whigs  had  made 
another  step  towards  modern  Liberalism ;  the  Tories 
were  more  identified  with  a  reactionary  policy 
under  the  leadership  of  Liverpool  and  Castlereagh 


168     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [CH. 

than  they  had  been.  It  might  be  expected  that 
party-warfare  would  become  brisker  ;  and  that 
there  would  be  greater  powers  displayed  in  satiric 
compositions.  And  so  it  happened.  The  Whigs 
had  obtained  a  new  poet  in  the  person  of  Thomas 
Moore  (1779—1852).  Moore  was  an  Irish  Catholic 
of  liberal  tendencies,  and  already  a  celebrated 
song- writer.  He  was  therefore  a  very  fit  person, 
both  by  convictions  and  talent,  to  avenge  the  Whigs 
on  their  quondam  patron.  Very  wisely  he  delivered 
most  of  his  attacks  in  various  lyric  metres  of  which 
he  was  a  master,  or  in  comic  octosyllabics,  recalling 
Tickell's  Prophecy,  which  admirably  suited  his 
style  of  witty  persiflage.  When  he  attempted 
more  serious  denunciation  in  the  style  of  Churchill, 
he  was  less  successful.  His  talent  lay  in  a  gay  and 
not  very  savage  mockery,  a  cross  between  Peter 
Pindar  and  the  lighter  moods  of  the  Anti- Jacobin. 
It  might  seem  ineffective  at  first  sight ;  but  it  was 
written  in  the  spirit  of  a  gentleman,  and  conformed 
to  the  new  standard  of  decency.  The  victim  found 
himself  covered  with  a  ridicule  which  could  seldom 
be  denounced  for  ill-taste  or  malignity.  Moore 
was  fortunate,  too,  in  his  first  subject.  The  Prince 
had  no  man's  respect  or  liking.  The  truth  of  the 
parody  Moore  put  into  his  mouth  was  too  well- 
known. 

I  am  proud  to  declare  I  have  no  predilections; 

My  heart  is  a  sieve,  where  some  scatter'd  affections 

Are  just  danced  about  for  a  moment  or  two, 

And,  the  finer  they  are,  the  more  sure  to  run  through. 


VI]  MOORE  169 

Moore  pursued  his  attack  on  the  Regent  in  his 
Twopenny  Posthag  published  in  1813.  This  was 
a  series  of  rhymed  epistles,  purporting  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  private  correspondence  of  various 
high  personages.  The  best,  partly  because  the 
pleasantest,  is  perhaps  that  from  the  Prince's 
Equerry  to  a  worthy  Tory,  who  had  written  a  book 
in  favour  of  increasing  the  power  of  the  Sovran. 
An  extract  will  show  its  quality  : 

But — to  your  work's  immortal  credit — 
The  P — e,  good  sir,  the  P— e  has  read  it; 
(The  only  book,  himself  remarks, 
Which  he  has  read  since  Mrs  Clarke's)^. 
Last  Levee-morn  he  look'd  it  through, 
During  that  awful  hour  or  two 
Of  grave  tonsorial  preparation, 
Which,  to  a  fond,  admiring  nation. 
Sends  forth,  announced  by  trump  and  drum, 
The  best-wigg'd  P — e  in  Christendom. 
He  thinks  with  you,  th'  imagination 
Of  partnership  in  legislation 
Could  only  enter  in  the  noddles 
Of  dull  and  ledger-keeping  twaddles. 
Whose  heads  on  firms  are  running  so. 
They  e'en  must  have  a  King  and  Co.; 
And  hence,  too,  eloquently  show  forth 
On  checks  and  balances  and  so  forth. 

There  is  a  touch  of  Hudihras  here,  although  Moore 
is  thin  in  comparison  with  Butler.  It  reminds  us 
that  in  accounting  for  the  collapse  of  the  royal 
power  after  the  Reform  Bill  we  have  always  to 
remember  th^  want  of  capacity  and  education  which 
clung  like  a  curse  to  the  Hanoverians. 

The  Whigs  were  soon  enabled  to  add  another 

^  Eevelations  of  Mrs  Clarke,  ex-mistress  of  the  Tory  Duke  of 
York. 


170     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch. 

plank  to  their  party-platform  by  the  Treaties  of 
Vienna  in  1815.  The  arbitrary  territorial  arrange- 
ments made  by  the  Four  Great  Powers  which  had 
conquered  Napoleon  were  devised  in  complete  dis- 
regard of  the  wishes  of  the  populations  concerned ; 
and  now  the  English  Opposition  came  forward  as 
champion  of  the  rights  of  nationalities  as  well  as 
of  popular  government.  There  is  an  amusing  Tory 
skit  on  their  objections  to  the  annexation  by 
England  of  the  Danish  island  of  Heligoland. 

But  scarcely  less  vile  than  the  seizure  of  Poland 

Has  been  our  base  conduct  to  poor  Heligoland; 

That  innocent  isle  we  have  stolen  from  the  Danes, 

And  it  groans  with  the  weight  of  our  trade  and  our  chains. 

On  that  happy  strand,  not  two  lustres  ago. 

The  thistle  was  free  in  luxuriance  to  grow; 

The  people  at  liberty  starved  and  enjoy 'd 

Their  natural  freedom,  by  riches  uncloy'd. 

But  now  all  this  primitive  virtue  is  fled; 

Rum,  sugar,  tobacco,  are  come  in  its  stead; 

And,  debauch'd  by  our  profligate  commerce,  we  see 

This  much-injured  race  drinking  porter  and  tea, 

And  damning,  half-fuddled,  (I  tell  it  with  pain) 

Their  true  and  legitimate  master,  the  Dane. 

We  might  be  reading  in  these  lines  a  satire  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century  ;  Malta  and  Cyprus  recur 
to  the  memory,  not  to  mention  other  instances. 

Each  side  now  kept  up  an  unremitting  fire  of 
squibs.  These  productions,  some  of  which  were 
published  later  in  the  Whig  and  Tory  Guides,  are 
mostly  flat.  Their  main  characteristic  is  their 
preference  for  a  light  and  mocking  style  in  place 
of  direct  denunciation.  Herein  Moore  reigned 
supreme.    It  was  in  1817  that  he  published  his 


VI]  MOORE  171 

best  satire  The  Fudge  Family  in  Paris,  a  new 
series  of  versified  letters.  Lord  Castlereagh,  the 
Foreign  Secretary,  had  succeeded  the  Prince 
Regent  as  Mte  noire  for  the  Whigs.  The  Quad- 
ruple Alliance  had  soon  declined  from  their 
professions  of  Liberalism,  made  in  1813.  More 
and  more  they  were  actuated  by  the  desire  to 
maintain  "  whatever  legally  existed,"  and  to  resist 
any  popular  movement  whether  for  Liberalism 
or  ISTationality.  They  further  often  construed 
"  maintain  "  as  meaning  "  restore  "  ;  and  they  used 
the  dictatorship  of  Europe,  which  they  had  acquired 
from  IS'apoleon,  to  exercise  a  general  and  oppres- 
sive surveillance  over  the  minor  states.  This  was 
coupled  with  a  special  anxiety  to  hold  down  the 
Revolutionary  element  in  France,  whence  they 
always  feared  an  explosion.  Now  England  was  a 
member  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance,  and  though 
Castlereagh  by  no  means  sympathised  altogether 
with  the  later  phase  of  that  association  consisting 
of  its  three  eastern  members,  the  Holy  Alliance  as 
it  was  called,  he  was  fully  at  one  with  his  partners 
in  maintaining  the  status  quo,  and  especially  the 
Bourbons  in  France.  The  Whigs  thoroughly 
disapproved  of  his  policy  as  far  as  they  knew  it, 
and  believed  it  to  be  more  in  accord  with  that  of 
the  three  despotic  Powers  than  it  really  was. 
Moore,  therefore,  makes  Philip  Fudge,  one  of  his 
correspondents,  a  tool  of  Castlereagh,  who  visits 
Paris  and  reports  to  his  chief.    Castlereagh,  it 


172     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch. 

should  be  mentioned,  was  a  peculiarly  bad  speaker 
and  provided  unending  jokes  for  his  opponents,  as 
may  be  seen  in  Letter  II. 

At  length,  my  Lord,  I  have  the  bliss 
To  date  to  you  a  line  from  this 
"  Demoralized  "  metropolis ; 
Where  by  plebeians  low  and  scurvy 
The  throne  was  turned  quite  topsy-turvy, 
And  Kingship,  tumbled  from  its  seat, 
"Stood  prostrate"  at  the  people's  feet; 
Where  (still  to  use  your  Lordship's  tropes) 
The  level  of  obedience  slopes 
Upward  and  downward,  as  the  stream 
Of  hydra  faction  kicks  the  beam. 
Where  the  poor  palace  changes  masters 

Quicker  than  a  snake  its  skin. 
And  Louis  is  roll'd  out  on  castors. 

While  Boney's  borne  on  shoulders  in: 
But  where,  in  every  change,  no  doubt. 

One  special  good  your  Lordship  traces, — 
That  'tis  the  Kings  alone  turn  out, 

The  Ministers  still  keep  their  places. 

Castlereagh's  own  term  of  office  had  been  of 
the  longest.  He  was  already  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland  during  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  of 
1798,  a  fact  which  Moore  refers  to  subsequently. 

But  time  and  ink  run  short,  and  now, 
(As  thou  would'st  say,  my  guide  and  teacher, 

In  these  gay  metaphoric  fringes) 
I  must  embark  into  the  feature 

On  which  this  letter  chiefly  hinges; 
My  Book,  the  Book  that  is  to  prove — 
And  icill,  (so  help,  ye  Sprites  above. 
That  sit  on  clouds,  as  grave  as  judges. 
Watching  the  labours  of  the  Fudges!) 
Will  prove  that  all  the  world,  at  present, 
Is  in  a  state  extremely  pleasant; 
That  Europe,  thanks  to  royal  swords 

And  bayonets  and  the  Duke's  commanding, 
Enjoys  a  peace  which,  like  the  Lord's, 

Passeth  all  human  understanding; 


VI]  MOORE  173 

That  France  prefers  her  go-cart  King 

To  such  a  coAvard  scamp  as  Boney; 
Though  round  with  each  a  leading-string 

There  standeth  many  a  Royal  crony, 
For  fear  the  chubby,  tottering  thing 

Should  fall,  if  left  there  loney-poney; 
That  England,  too,  the  more  her  debts, 
The  more  she  spends,  the  richer  gets; 
And  that  the  Irish,  grateful  nation! 

Remember  when  by  thee  reign'd  over, 
And  bless  thee  for  the  flagellation, 

As  Heloisa  did  her  lover. 

These  were  Moore's  palmy  days,  but  he  continued 
to  write  gaily  for  the  Liberal  side  during  many 
years^   He  was  against  the  Corn-Laws  as  early  as 
1826  :  he  produced  endless  verses  in  favour  of 
Catholic  Emancipation  ;  he  was  for  Parliamentary 
Reform  and  the  redress  of  Irish  grievances ;    he 
was  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  privileges  and  emolu- 
ments of  the  English  clergy.     But  his  humour  gets 
thinner  and  thinner,  though  his  verses  always  go 
lightly.    In  polish  and  finesse  of  wit  he  was  out- 
done by  his  younger    contemporary,   Praed ;  in 
strength  and  poetic  genius  he  was  cast  in   the 
shade  by  Byron.     Still,  besides  the  great  merit  of 
his  earlier  raillery,  he  must  always  retain  the  credit 
of  the  invention  of  the  rapid,  sparkling  style  of 
satire^  Unfortunately  he  missed  the  virtues  of 
brevity  and  compression,  and  somehow  in  his  comic 
as  well  as  in  his  serious  poetry  he  never  seems  to 
bring  out  the  full  charm  of  the  language.     The 
finest  efiects  of  English  style  are  not  his,  though  it 
would  be  hard  to  describe  the  mysterious  bouquet 
which  is  absent  from  his  vintage. 


174     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch. 

Although  the  Whigs  were  out  of  power,  the 
stars  in  their  courses  were  fighting  for  them.  The 
Tories  were  outliving  the  credit  they  had  gained 
in  the  war.  They  met  the  distress  caused  by  the 
progress  of  the  Industrial  Revolution  and  the 
burdens  of  the  war  by  mere  repression,  and  steadily 
refused  to  see  that  times  were  changing  or  that 
novelty  spelt  anything  but  ruin.  They  were,  how- 
ever, scarcely  to  blame  for  one  difficulty,  the 
character  of  George  IV,  as  the  Prince  Regent 
became  in  1820.  That  worthless  debauchee  insisted 
on  their  undertaking  a  prosecution  against  his  wife, 
which  cost  them  much  of  their  popularity.  But 
the  Queen  w^as  an  ill  patron-saint  for  the  Whigs. 
Even  Theodore  Hook's  vulgar  pasquinades  were 
effectual  against  her  ;  and  the  enthusiasm  for  her 
died  down  completely  when  she  took  a  pension 
and  the  official  persecution  ceased.  The  only  result 
was  to  leave  the  King  deprived  of  prestige  and 
respect.  The  then  Whig  mockery  of  Praed  ex- 
pressed a  really  general  opinion.  The  King  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  passes  his  time — 

building  carriages  and  boats 

And  streets  and  chapels  and  pavilions, 
And  regulating  all  the  coats 

And  all  the  principles  of  millions, 
And  drinking  homilies  and  gin, 

And  chewing  pork  and  adulation. 
And  looking  backward  upon  sin. 

And  looking  forward  to  salvation. 

The  King,  so  enervate  and  contemptible,  had 
little  chance  of  resisting  the  increasing  demand  for 


VI]  PRAED  175 

Catholic  Emancipation.  For  a  time,  indeed,  the 
power  of  his  Tory  Ministers,  who  were  either 
against  the  measure  or  anxious  to  humour  him, 
was  buoyed  up  by  a  series  of  brilliant  achievements 
in  foreign  affairs  under  Canning  and  of  very 
respectable  ones  in  finance  under  Huskisson.  The 
debate  was  fervid  throughout  the  country.  When 
the  contest  grew  to  fever-heat  about  the  time  of 
Canning's  death,  the  Whigs  were  decidedly  better 
provided  with  political  satirists.  Not  only  had 
they  Moore,  but  they  also  numbered  among  them 
the  rising  genius  of  Praed. 

Well-connected,  well-educated,  typically  well- 
bred,  Winthrop  Mackworth  Praed  (1802-39),  with 
his  narrow  but  concentrated  genius,  was  to 
mark  an  epoch  in  English  Satire.  This  was  due 
partly  to  his  time :  he  lived  at  the  beginning  of 
recent  history.  But  it  was  also  due  to  his  qualities. 
He  was  in  a  small  way  Horatian :  he  attained  the 
Golden  Mean  in  a  manner  of  perfect  finish.  There 
was  nothing  eccentric,  outr4  or  even  over-fashion- 
able in  this  public-school  boy ;  nothing  to  offend 
the  changing  taste  of  subsequent  generations. 
Only  the  charm  of  his  work  has  somewhat  dis- 
appeared. 

By  his  poems  Praed  may  be  regarded  as  finally 
dividing  political  satiric  verse  into  two  genres,  the 
gaily,  sardonic,  lyrical  style  he  cultivated  being 
reserved  for  day  to  day  politics,  while  greater 
issues  are  left  for  a  more  elevated  poetry  and  a 


176     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [CH. 

more  literary  audience.  The  old  rough  and  ready 
ballads  had  become  extinct  during  the  Great  War; 
and  Praed,  like  Moore  and  his  fellows,  took  up 
their  succession  as  well  as  that  of  the  Rolliad  and 
the  lighter  side  of  the  Anti-Jacobin.  In  one  way 
he  differs  from  his  forerunners.  Indecency  is  not 
found  in  his  verse,  nor  are  those  lampoons  of 
private  life  which  has  not  made  itself  public  in  the 
law-courts.  In  this  cleanliness  he  represents  the 
culmination  of  a  development,  though  a  very 
irregular  one.  Coarseness  and  personalities  had 
always  been  the  bane  of  English  satire  from 
Cleveland's  time  on.  Perhaps  it  is  at  its  worst  in  the 
mid-reign  of  Charles  II,  and  slowly  improves  after- 
wards. But  there  are  relapses,  and  I  think  the 
/^  most  famous  writers  are  usually  a  shade  better 
than  their  contemporaries.  A  steadier  improve- 
ment begins  after  the  writers  in  the  Rolliad 
campaign  had  disgraced  themselves  by  their 
licence  ;  and  Praed  may  be  said  to  inaugurate  the 
unexceptionable  er^ 

Formal  perfection  seems  to  have  been  Praed's 
ideal,  and  with  that  he  combined  a  mental  alertness, 
which  enabled  him  to  compose  in  a  style  of  anti- 
thetic wit  a  string  of  allusions  to  the  opinions  and 
oddities  of  his  victims.  Though  not  virulent  in 
the  old  sense,  he  could  be  severe  enough,  as  his 
Retrospect  of  Lord  Chancellor  Eldon  may  show : 

When  Pitt  was  Premier,  well-a-day! 
I  chanted  lo  Paeans, 


vij  PRAED  177 

And  held  the  loftiest  Whigs  at  bay, 

As  well  as  base  plebeians. 
I  filled  old  Jacobins  with  awe, 

Distorting  fact  and  reason, 
Whene'er  'twas  wished  to  twist  the  law 

Or  find  constructive  treason. 

I  raved  at  all  Republicans, 

Detested  snobbish  hooters. 
Got  flattery  from  partisans, 

And  fees  from  Chancery  suitors; 
Reform  1  constantly  decried. 

Pronounced  the  truth  a  libel \ 
On  working  days  to  briefs  applied, 

On  Sundays  read  my  Bible. 

At  length  my  loyalty  was  such. 

It  could  but  be  rewarded; 
And  as  I  ne'er  expected  much, 

A  trifle  was  accorded. 
Content  the  humble  boon  I  took, 

A  coronet  and  pension, 
And  on  the  woolsack  proudly  shook 

An  Earldom's  full  dimension. 

I  kept  the  conscience  of  the  king 

With  Protestant  discernment; 
And  showed  that  freedom  was  a  thing 

Fit  only  for  adjournment; 
That  granting  rights  to  Catholics 

Would  be  a  dreadful  omen. 
And  millions — say,  some  five  or  six — 

Were  positively  no  men. 

In  short  there's  nothing  more  required 

Than  bayonets  and  bullets. 
At  reasonable  prices  hired. 

To  stop  these  Irish  gullets; 
But  God  forbid  that  I  should  be 
•  Like  that  vile  Popish  Bonner, 
Who  roasted  folk  for  heresy. 

And  for  the  Church's  honour! 

I  would  not  burn  the  wretches — faugh! 

But  hanging,  drawing,  quart'ring 
Are  quite  agreeable  to  law 

Which  disapproves  of  tort'ring; 
And  really  if  they  do  persist 

In  actions  contumacious, 

\         ^  The  greater  the  truth,  the  greater  the  libel — old  legal  maxim, 
o.  12 


178     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch. 

Why  then  increase  the  Army  List, 
And  shoot  the  most  audacious! 

But  ah,  the  times  are  changed,  and  now. 

Repenting  old  oppressions. 
Majorities  are  bound  to  bow 

In  favour  of  concessions; 
Yet  I  will  still  consistent  be, 

Intolerant  and  Tory, 
And  go  down  to  posterity 

In  pure  and  perfect  glory. 

It  is  characteristic  of  Praed  that  his  satires  require 
quoting  at  length,  partly  because  their  constructive 
art  needs  to  be  shown,  partly  because  their  wit 
is  commonly  somewhat  diluted.  It  is  the  tout 
ensemble  that  strikes  us.  Gradually  a  caricature  is 
evolved  as  one  stanza  of  delicate  humour  follows 
another. 

On  Praed  the  enactment  of  Catholic  Eman- 
cipation had  a  curious,  but  not  unprecedented, 
effect.  His  reforming  ardour  began  thenceforward 
to  abate.  The  injustice  which  impressed  him  was 
abolished,  and  his  natural  instincts,  which  were 
aristocratic  and  fastidious,  drew  him  rapidly  over 
to  the  Tory  side.  When  the  Reform  agitation 
grew  great,  he  was  its  convinced  opponent,  and  the 
Tories  lost  power  and  found  their  satirist  almost  at 
the  same  moment.  His  gift  of  urbane  raillery  pecu- 
liarly fittedhim  to  ridicule  popular  enthusiasms.  He 
treats  them  with  a  contemptuous  composure  which 
displays  more  than  it  hides  the  disgust  within. 

We're  sick  of  this  distressing  state  ^ 
Of  order  and  repose; 

1  The  new  Order  of  Things,  Dec.  1830. 


VI]  PRAED  .     179 

We  have  not  had  enough  of  late 

Of  blunders  or  of  blows; 
We  can't  endure  to  pass  our  life 

In  such  a  humdrum  way; 
We  want  a  little  pleasant  strife, — 

The  Whigs  are  in  to-day! 

Our  worthy  fathers  were  content 

With  all  the  world's  applause; 
They  thought  they  had  a  Parliament, 

And  liberty  and  laws. 
It's  no  such  thing;  we've  wept  and  groaned 

Beneath  a  despot's  sway; 
We've  all  been  whipped,  and  starved,  and  stoned- 

The  Whigs  are  in  to-day! 

It's  time  for  us  to  see  the  things 

Which  other  folk  have  seen; 
It's  time  we  should  cashier  our  kings, 

And  build  our  guillotine; 
We'll  abrogate  Police  and  Peers, 

And  vote  the  Church  away; 
We'll  hang  the  parish  overseers — 

The  Whigs  are  in  to-day! 

The  repetition  of  the  last  line,  or  of  a  phrase  of  it, 
was  a  favourite  trick  of  Praed's ;  but  not  often 
does  he  succeed  in  bringing  it  in  with  such 
variations  of  exultant  folly  as  here.  The  year 
1832  seemed  indeed  full  of  strange  portents.  It 
was  a  period  of  wild  hopes.  Corruption  had 
received  a  staggering  blow.  A  better  world  was 
coming.  So,  too,  it  was  a  period  of  wild  fears. 
Sansculottism  was  rampant.  Ignorance,  rapacity 
and  folly  were  to  rule  the  roast.  It  was  not  the 
first  time  that  Englishmen  attributed  to  themselves 
an  unpractical,  hysterical  temper  that  was  not 
theirs.  Scarcely  was  the  Reformed  Parliament 
met,  than  tradition  resumed  its  sway  ;  and  the  new 
House  of  Commons,  led  by  the  traditional  circle  of 

12—2 


180     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch. 

Whig  families,  set  itself  in  the  ancient  spirit  of  the 
race  to  sober  and  cautious  reform.  The  effervescence 
of  the  less-trained  classes  in  the  country  was  calmly 
repressed,  and  the  new  Ministry  showed  itself 
quite  aware  how  far  it  could  go. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  this  chastened 
wisdom  should  appeal  to  the  Tories.  They  drew 
sardonic  parallels  on  the  different  attitudes  of 
the  Whigs  to  the  mob  before  and  after  Reform  : 
and  Praed,  for  them,  celebrated  the  change  in  some 
of  his  most  witty  and  wrong-headed  lines,  Thirty- 
two  and  Thirty-three. 

Of  old,  when  long  petitions  came 

From  Tom  and  Dick,  who  brew  and  bake, 
We  used  to  hear  the  press  proclaim 

That  all  the  nation  was  awake. 
If  Dick  and  Tom,  who  bake  and  brew. 

To-day  petition  to  be  free, 
"The  nation"  roared  in  Thirty-two, 

It's  just  the  mob  in  Thirty-three. 
Our  Pyms  and  Hampdens  made  their  bow 

To  millions,  or  to  myriads,  then;. 
But  Lord!   they  only  babble  now 

To  half-a-score  of  drunken  men. 
Then  nothing  into  numbers  grew; 

Now  numbers  into  nothing  flee; 
For  one  was  ten  in  Thirty-two, 

And  ten  are  one  in  Thirty-three. 

Of  course  one  must  not  underrate  Praed's  reason- 
ing. The  Chartist  agitation  was  coming.  Yet 
on  the  main  point  the  Whigs  were  right.  The 
excitement  of  Thirty-three  was  a  pale  reflex  of 
that  in  Thirty-two. 

Besides  these  general  assaults  Praed  also  made 
use  of  an  Opposition's  stock  themes.    Ministers 


VI]  PRAED  181 

were  of  course  incompetent  and  miserable  mis- 
managers  of  affairs.  Sometimes  these  strictures 
would  be  just,  but  an  unjust  survey  of  English 
foreign  policy  is  perhaps  the  best.  The  Belgians 
had  revolted  in  1830  from  their  unsympathetic 
Dutch  masters;  and  the  intervention  of  the  now 
Liberal  Western  Powers  of  England  and  France 
resulted  in  their  independence,  much  to  the 
detriment  of  the  Treaties  of  Vienna  and  of  the 
Holy  Alliance.  Praed  chose  to  believe  that 
England  was  hopelessly  diddled  by  her  partner 
all  through  the  negotiations  \ 

It's  true  we've  not  been  doing  much 

To  make  the  Frenchman  humble; 
And  after  all  those  dear,  dull  Dutch 

Have  cause  enough  to  grumble. 
We  cannot  see — who  says  we  can? — 

Through  Talleyrand's  inventions; 
For  he's  a  wicked,  clever  man; 

And  we — have  pure  intentions. 

The  spirit  of  ridicule  could  no  farther  go.  But 
Praed  had  also  severer  moments,  not,  it  may  be, 
so  happy.  In  the  following  he  uses  the  old,  partly 
sincere  cant  of  "  degenerate  days  "  compared  with 
the  grand  times  of  a  generation  since.  Palmerston 
on  one  occasion  (1834)  followed  his  usual  practice 
of  not  resigning  on  some  change  of  policy.  Taunts 
were  vain. 

The  scornful  look,  the  angry  tone. 
Are  vain  in  these  degenerate  days ; 

Resigned?  Oh  no,  high  hearts  alone 
Can  rightly  value  blame  and  praise. 

^  Intentions,  a  remonstrance  in  the  Ventilator  {La.diea'  Gallery). 


182     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch. 

A  nation's  sneer,  a  nation's  frown, 
Might  awe,  might  fire,  a  noble  mind; 

Pitt  would  have  flung  his  oflfice  down! 
Lord  Palmerston  has  not  resigned. 

This  pigmy  was  soon  to  become  the  Grand  Old 
Man  of  1860,  dwarfing  his  degenerate  successors. 
But  Praed  died  long  before,  even  before  the 
Conservatives  returned  to  power  under  Peel,  vju 
his  short  career  he  had  laid  down  the  laws  for 
future  satirists  of  the  gay  and  witty  sort.  No 
longer  the  bludgeon  was  to  be  employed  for  passing 
ridicule,  but  neat  rapier-thrusts.  So  the  cumbrous 
tales  of  our  forefathers  gave  way  to  the  credible 
events  of  Thackerayan  novels. 

It  is  a  disappointment  not  to  find  a  worthy 
successor  to  Praed,  though  he  had  imitators  in 
abundance.  It  makes  one  cast  about  for  a  special 
reason,  when  perhaps  the  general  vicissitudes  of 
literature  are  sufficient  to  account  for  the  fact. 
Praed,  it  may  be  said,  died  youngest  of  the  great 
"early  Victorian"  writers.  Thus  he  left  an 
observable  gap  in  their  ranks.  Then  the  very 
excellence  and  refinement  of  his  style  made  him 
difficult  to  follow,  as  also  happened  to  Tennyson 
later.  Yet  one  imitator,  FitzGerald,  wrote  with 
much  skill  in  his  vein.  After  all,  perhaps  the 
main  reasons  were  two.  Satire  in  elevated  poetry 
tended  to  devote  itself  to  subjects  of  European 
and  foreign  interest  which  had  little  local  applica- 
tion in  England.  The  Revolutionary  year  1848  saw 
no  revolution  here.   /Secondly,  the  foundation  and 


VI]  THACKERAY  183 

extraordinary  success  of  Punch  directed  satiric 
ability  more  and  more  for  the  time  at  least 
towards  gibes  at  society  and  the  doings  of  the 
ordinary  man.  It  was  Punch's  cartoons  which 
dealt  with  politics.  On  the  latter  Calverley  does 
not  appear  to  have  touched.  Of  Thackeray,  so  fit 
for  the  metier,  there  are,  to  be  sure,  the  whimsical 
verses  on  the  three  Christmas  Waits  of  1848, 
Louis  Philippe,  King  Coffee  of  Ashanti  and  Smith 
O'Brien,  who  led  a  burlesque  revolt  in  the  West 
of  Ireland.  The  Saxon  troops  resisted  the  latter's 
attack,  and  he  surrendered  in  a  kitchen-garden. 

"Our  people  they  defied, 
They  shot  at  'em  like  savages, 

Their  bloody  guns  they  plied 
With  sanguinary  ravages; 

Hide,  blushing  glory,  hide 
That  day  among  the  cabbages." 

Disraeli  attempted  to  revive  a  vigorous  party- 
satire  in  his  attack  on  the  Coalition  of  Liberals 
and  Peelites  in  1854;  but  the  effort  was  not  a 
successful  one.  Squibs  enough  appeared  in  a 
special  newspaper,  the  Press,  and  were  afterwards 
republished  in  the  Coalition  Guide.  None  of 
them,  however,  reached  a  high  standard  of  wit  or 
humour.  The  spirits  would  not  come  when  he  did 
call  for  them. 

One  genre  of  satiric  verse,  which  appeared 
from  time  to  time  among  the  political  squibs  of 
Punch,  was  a  very  old  one  in  its  essence.  This 
was  the  parody.     In  elder  times  a  chief  requisite 


184     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch. 

for  a  successful  political  ballad  had  been  a  good  and 
familiar  tune.  Hence  from  the  Civil  War  onwards 
there  appeared  swarms  of  songs  in  the  form  of  a 
Litany  or  with  such  a  refrain  as  "Which  nobody 
can  deny."  These  compositions  died  out  gradually 
with  the  vogue  of  the  old  airs ;  while  the  parody 
proper  of  a  political  adversary's  composition  is  to 
be  found  coming  into  use  in  the  Probationary 
Odes.  Now,  however,  Punch  would  take  a 
popular  song  and  turn  it  into  a  squib  much  in 
the  earlier  way.  Such  a  light  kind  of  parody, 
of  course,  could  not  stand  by  itself.  But  it  was 
admirably  suited  for  its  purpose  of  emphasizing 
the  moral  of  the  immortal  cartoons  it  accompanied. 
Other  work  of  a  more  brilliant  nature  appeared 
from  time  to  time.  Perhaps  Sir  George  Trevelyan 
enjoys  a  celebrity  from  his  youthful  squibs  more 
enduring  than  that  he  acquired  on  the  dusty  ways 
of  practical  politics.  The  Ladies  in  Parliament, 
which  he  wrote  in  1866,  contains  some  verses 
which  deserve  to  live  plus  uno  perenne  saeclo. 
Russell's  and  Gladstone's  Reform  Bill  of  that 
year  had  just  been  abandoned  owing  to  the  revolt 
of  those  dissentient  Liberal  members  known  as 
the  Cave  of  Adullam.  The  references  which  the 
Liberal  satirist  makes  to  them  and  the  Conserva- 
tives are  not  very  striking ;  but  he  describes 
the  good  old  times  with  a  mixture  of  irony  and 
admiring  humour  which  has  not  yet  lost  its  savour. 
/  Aristophanes  found  a  worthy  imitator. 


VI]  TREVELYAN  185 

We  much  revere  our  sires,  who  were  a  mighty  race  of  men. 
For  every  glass  of  port  we  drink,  they  nothing  thought  of 

ten. 
They  dwelt  above  the  foulest  drains.    They  breathed  the 

closest  air. 
They  had  their  yearly  twinge  of  gout,  and  little  seemed  to 

care. 
They  set  those  meddling  people  down  for  Jacobins  or  fools, 
Who  talked  of  public  libraries  and  grants  to  normal  schools ; 
Since   common  folks  who  read,  and  write,   and  like  their 

betters  speak. 
Want  something  more  than  pipes  and  beer,  and  sermons 

once  a  week. 
And  therefore  both  by  land  and  sea  their  match  they  rarely 

met, 
But  made  the  name  of  Britain  great,  and  ran  her  deep  in 

debt. 
They  seldom  stopped  to  count  the  foe,  or  sum  the  moneys 

spent. 
But  clenched  their   teeth  and  straight  ahead  with  sword 

and  musket  went. 
And  though  they  thought,  if  trade  were  free  that  England 

ne'er  would  thrive. 
They  freely  gave  their  blood  for  Moore  and  Wellington  and 

Clive. 
And  though  they  burned  their  coal  at  home,  nor  fetched 

their  ice  from  Wenham, 
They  played  the  man  before  Quebec,  and  stonned  the  lines 

at  Blenheim. 
When  sailors  lived  on  mouldy  bread,  and  lumps  of  musty 

pork. 
No  Frenchman  dared  his  nose  to  show  between  the  Downs 

and  Cork ; 
But  now  that  Jack  gets  beef  and  greens,  and  next  his  skin 

wears  flannel. 
The  "Standard"  says  we've  not  a  ship  in  plight  to  keep 

the  Channel. 
And  while  they  held  their  own  in  war,  our  fathers  showed 

no  stint 
Of  fire  and  nerve  and  vigour  rough,  whene'er  they  took  to 

print. 
They  charged  at  hazard    through  the   crowd,  and  recked 

not  whom  they  hurt. 
And  taught  their  Pegasus  to  kick  and   splash  about  the 

dirt; 
And  every  jolly  Whig  who  drank  at  Brooks's  joined  to  goad 
That  poor  young  Heaven-born  minister  with  epigram  and 

ode, 


186     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [CH. 

Because  he  would  not  call  a  main,  nor  shake  the  midnight 
box, 

Nor  flirt  with  all  the  pretty  girls  like  gallant  Charley  Fox. 

But  now  the  press  has  squeamish  grown,  and  thinks  in- 
vective rash; 

And  telling  hits  no  longer  lurk  'neath  asterisk  and  dash; 

And  poets  deal  in  epithets  as  soft  as  skeins  of  silk. 

Nor  dream  of  calling  silly  lords  a  curd  of  ass's  milk. 

And  satirists  confine  their  art  to  cutting  jokes  on  Beales, 

Or  snap  like  angry  puppies  round  a  mightier  tribune's 
heels : 

Discussing  whether  he  can  scan  and  understand  the  lines 

About  the  wooden  Horse  of  Troy,  and  when  and  where  he 
dines : 

Though  gentlemen  should  blush  to  talk  as  if  they  cared 
a  button 

Because  one  night  in  Chesham  Place  he  ate  his  slice  of 
mutton  1. 

Trevelyan's  method  of  accounting  for  the  poverty 
of  party-satire  in  his  day  has  some  truth  in  it  no 
doubt.  A  laugh  was  harder  to  raise  under  the  new 
conditions  of  restraint  in  subject  and  manner  ;  but 
this  penalty  applied  to  mediocrity  only.  Lines, 
like  Trevelyan's  own  on 

those  patrons  of  their  race 
Who   like   the   honest  working-man,   but   like  him   in  his 
place, 

rise  superior  to  the  restrictions  of  modern  manners, 
and  after  all  the  best  of  what  he  admired  in  the 
past  will  generally  conform  to  later  notions  of 
propriety. 

Still  as  a  whole  the  satiric  verses  of  the  middle 
Victorian  period  are  not  inspiring.  A  whimsical 
jubilation  by  F.  D.  over  the  resignation  of  Gladstone 

1  In  the  London  season  of  1866  there  was  much  gossip  over 
the  fact  of  Lord  John  Eussell  having  entertained  Mr  Bright  at 
dinner.     Trevelyan's  note. 


VI]  RECENT  SATIRE  187 

in  1874  has  some  merit,  but  of  a  rather  exiguous 
kind.     It  describes  the  last  Cabinet  Council. 

Poor  G.  midst  the  weeping  and  wailing, 

Attempted  their  feelings  to  calm, 
And  promote  a  return  to  plain  sailing, 

By  leading  the  tone  to  a  psalm. 
But  the  words  in  his  throttle  they  stuck — stuck. 

And  besides  he'd  forgotten  the  tune, 
Put  out,  as  it  were,  by  the  Buck — Buck — 

Buckinghamshire  Buffoon. 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  whether  the  greater 
interest  of  more  recent  satire  is  due  to  its  intrinsic 
merit  or  to  the  still  warm  political  sympathies  to 
which  it  appeals.  A  me  par  oro,  but  a  secure 
judgment  is  impossible,  when  one's  prepossessions 
are  so  likely  to  be  engaged,  and  while  the  atmo- 
sphere of  the  time  continues  to  be  so  sympathetic 
to  the  squibs  themselves.  We  know  too  well  the 
feelings  they  express  to  be  impartial. 

One  lively  writer  on  the  Conservative  side 
employs  an  airy,  unmalicious  fun  which  is  very 
attractive.  No  Radical,  one  would  think,  would 
be  much  annoyed  at  such  a  description  of  the 
Newcastle  Programme  as  the  following: 

Each  evil  to  its  ghastly  root 

I  trace  with  all  unclouded  ken, 

See  women  hungering  to  be  men, 
And  ploughboys  for  a  village-moot; 
And  naught  my  energies  shall  daunt, — 

Ratepaying  matters  not  to  me, — 
Till  everything  they  do  not  want 

Is  furnished  to  the  masses— /r^^. 

The  true  successor  to  Praed,  however,  is  to  be 
found  in  Mr  Owen  Seaman.  In  both  there  is  the 
same  zeal  for  form,  and  a  kindred  delicacy  of  wit. 


188     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [CH. 

Mr  Seaman  is  in  some  ways  more  varied  than  his 
forerunner.  He  uses  many  metres.  He  makes 
excursions  into  parody  for  his  political  ends.  More, 
too,  than  Praed  he  cultivates  a  conversational 
negligence  of  phrase.  But  in  essentials  the  resem- 
blance is  close.  Politics  are  introduced  by  them 
as  one  among  other  aspects  of  social  life.  Of  this 
a  good  example  is  Mr  Seaman's  Entre  Noel  et  le 
Jour  de  VAn.  The  events  of  1894  are  fresh  in 
everyone's  recollection.  Among  them  was  that 
unfortunate  phrase  of  Lord  Rosebery's  about  the 
need  of  converting  "the  predominant  partner," 
England,  to  Irish  Home  Rule,  before  the  latter 
could  become  possible,  words  which  had  to  be 
interpreted  afterwards  under  pressure  from  his 
Irish  supporters. 

Entre  Noel  et  le  Jour  de  I'An 

The  oracles  are  mostly  dumb; 
Still  is  the  hustings  rataplan, 

And  still  the  stumper's  hideous  hum; 
The  time  invites  to  eat  and  drink, 
And  in  the  intervals  to  think. 

The  statesman's  studied  repartee 

Is  lightly  laid  upon  the  shelf; 
Even  the  Earl  of  Rosebery 

Refuses  to  commit  himself; 
And,  having  nothing  new  to  say, 
Has  nothing  to  explain  away. 

It  is  noticeable  that  a  classical  flavour  in  verse 
has  a  pensive  effect  in  these  days :  eighty  years 
ago  it  was  a  cheerful  influence.  Perhaps  the 
change  is  due  to  the  progress  of  democratic  feeling 
now  ;  the  big  drum  drowns  both  the  antique  flute 


VI]  MR  SEAMAN  189 

and  the  zither  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  snatches 
we  hear  of  the  two  latter  are  naturally  plaintive. 

A  sense  of  comedy  prevails  in  Mr  Seaman's  skit 
on  the  resignation  of  the  Liberal  Leadership  by  Sir 
William  Harcourt,  when  that  veteran  statesman 
was  wearied  of  the  disunion  of  his  followers.  Of 
the  two  parodies  of  which  it  consists,  perhaps  that  of 
Tennyson's  Morte  d' Arthur  is  the  better.  It  is  the 
more  humorous,  although  in  it  as  in  its  fellow  the 
humour  has  a  tone  of  much  acerbity.  The  imitation 
Arthur  departs  in  a  balloon,  attended  by  Lord 
Morley  (John  I'Honnete)  and  Sir  Henry  Fowler 
(Sir  Cop-la-poule).     His  farewell  is  hesitating  : 

"Yet  let  thy  voice 
Roll  like  an  organ  for  me  in  the  Press, 
That  men  may  know  the  worth  of  what  they  lose. 
And  now  farewell!   I  am  addressed  to  go 
A  strange  excursion — if  indeed  I  go, 
For  1  myself  have  had  my  doubts  of  this — 
To  some  far-off  aerial  Lotus-isle, 
A  land  where  it  is  evermore  p.m.; 
Where  falls  not  any  noise  of  party-strife, 
Nor  horrid  hum  of  rival  leaderships, 
But  all  is  inward  calm,  with  ample  space 
For  writing  reams  of  letters  to  the  Times" 

So  I  to  bed; 
And  dreaming  far  into  the  Christmas  dawn, 
Beheld  a  parachute,  and  therewithal 
Pendent  a  personage  of  stateliest  port, 
That  earthward  shot;  and  all  the  people  cried, 
"Harcourt  is  come  again!    We  knew  he  would!" 
And  Cymric  voices  echoed:    "Come  again! 
He  never  meant  to  die!" 

The  allusions  all  through  refer  to  things  too  recent 
to  need  a  commentary.     The  prophecy,  of  course, 


190     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME     [ch- 

if  it  was  really  seriously  intended,  was  never  ful- 
filled. 

Not  always,  however,  is  Mr  Seaman  so  purely 
conservative  in  sympathy  as  in  Resignation,  Often 
he  expresses  an  opinion  generally  held  by  members 
of  both  parties.  An  admirable  instance  in  point 
is  furnished  by  his  verses  on  the  last  stage  of  the 
celebrated  Fashoda  incident.  Recent  international 
cordialities  have  tended  to  make  us  forget  the 
simmering  vexation  felt  in  England  over  that 
curious  adventure  of  speculative  diplomacy.  The 
Hurt  that  Honour  feels  is  a  scornful  answer  to  the 
arguments  and  not  very  reasonable  complaints  of 
the  French  press. 

That  man  is  surely  in  the  wrong 

And  lets  his  angry  passions  blind  him, 
Who,  when  a  person  comes  along 

Behind  him, 
And  hits  him  hard  upon  the  cheek 

(One  whom  he  took  to  be  his  brother), 
Declines  to  turn  and  let  him  tweak 
The  other. 

It  should  be  his  immediate  care 

By  delicate  and  tactful  dealings 
To  ease  the  striker's  pain  and  spare 

His  feelings; 
Nor  should  he,  for  his  private  ends, 

Make  any  personal  allusion 
Tending  to  aggravate  his  friend's 
Confusion. 

For  there  are  people  built  this  way: 
They  may  have  scratched  your  face  or  bent  it, 

Yet,  if  you  reason  with  them,  they 
Resent  it! 

Their  honour,  quickly  rendered  sore, 
Demands  that  you  should  suflFer  mutely, 


VI]  MR  SEAMAN  191 

Lest  they  should  feel  it  even  more 
Acutely. 


Thus  England  should  not  take  offence 

When,  from  behind,  they  jump  upon  her; 
She  must  not  hurt  their  lively  sense 

Of  honour. 
For  plain  opinions,  put  in  speech, 

Might  lead  to  blows,  which  might  be  bloody, 
A  lesson  which  the  Press  should  teach 
And  study! 

This  mordant  satire  has  a  grave  air  enough, 
and  no  one  would  question  its  justice  to  the  north 
of  the  Channel,  but  possibly  it  is  surpassed  by  a 
simpler  piece  of  Mr  Seaman's  dealing  with  delin- 
quencies nearer  home.  It  is  too  thorny  a  subject  to 
express  an  opinion  on  here  ;  yet  perhaps  the  jester 
has  a  claim  to  serious  hearing,  when  he  criticizes 
the  attitude  of  English  parties  in  their  attempts  to 
remould  primary  education.  In  Shylock  and  the 
Pound  of  Soul  he  addresses  the  person  most 
concerned,  the  English  Child. 

It  lies,  I  trust,  outside  your  ken 

That  nightly,  till  the  senses  reel. 
Six  hundred  heated  Christian  men 

Wrestle  for  your  immortal  weal. 

Yes,  when  on  Heaven's  name  they  call 
And  knock  each  other's  doctrines  flat, 

You  are  their  object;  it  is  all 
On  your  account,  unconscious  brat! 

Summer  will  pass,  and  Winter's  hand 

Of  dying  Autumn  take  his  toll. 
And  still,  like  Shylocks,  they  will  stand. 

Claiming  their  punctual  pound  of  soul. 

I  wonder,  should  you  come  to  know 

The  facts  about  this  deadly  feud. 
Whether  your  little  heart  would  go 

And  burst  with  speechless  gratitude; 


N». 


192     MODERN  MOCKERY  IN  RHYME    [ch.  vi 

Or  leather,  being  made  aware 
What  means  they  used  to  gain  their  ends, 

You  would  compose  a  tiny  prayer 
To  be  delivered  from  your  friends; 

And  crave  permission  of  the  star 
That  on  your  recent  advent  smiled, 

Just  to  continue  what  you  are — 
A  simple,  bounding,  heathen  child. 

LThe  fact  is  that  a  purely  mirthful  spirit  barely 
exists  in  English  literature.  A  serious  application 
will  appear  among  the  wit,  even  in  so  specialized 
a  light  verse  as  that  initiated  by  Praed. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ELEVATED  SATIRE  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

While  lighter  political  verse  continued  its  de- 
velopment as  we  have  seen,  the  more  elevated  forms 
of  poetry  were  by  no  means  neglected  for  political 
themes.  But  their  subjects  were  very  different  in 
the  main  from  what  they  had  been  in  the  past  age. 
The  greater  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  was 
marked  in  Europe  by  the  progress  of  three  allied 
political  ideas,  which  all  looked  back  to  the  period 
of  the  French  Revolution  as  the  beginning  of  their 
greatness.  They  were  political  Liberty,  roughly 
so  styled,  Nationality  and  Internationalism.  In 
general,  the  two  former  were  resisted  by  the  par- 
tisans of  Restoration,  who  obtained  the  mastery 
of  Europe  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  but  the  tenet 
of  Internationalism  was  as  strongly  held  by  them  as 
by  the  favourers  of  change,  and  in  fact  its  appli- 
cation was  one  of  their  chief  weapons  in  waging 
war  on  the  Revolutionary  Spirit.  Connected  with 
the  greater  feeling  of  solidarity,  both  national  and 
European,  was  the  impulse  to  social  reform,  which 

o.  13 


194  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

derived  both  from  the  conscientious  policy  of  the 
philosophic  despots  of  the  age 
levelling  humanitarianism  of  theFrench  Revolution.! 
With  the  Liberals  it  took  the  form  of  aTmovemeiir 
towards  democracy  and  the  abolition  of  privilege, 
with  the  Reactionaries  that  of  material  improve- 
ments and  of  an  anxious  surveillance  of  religion 
and  of  European  peace.  One  side  saw  that  Europe 
was  still  bleeding  from  the  subversive  wars  of  the 
Revolution,  the  other  that  the  popular  gains  had 
been  small  and  had  been  diminished  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  subsequent  peace.  Although  England 
was  not  exactly  in  line  with  the  despotic  powers  of 
the  Continent,  the  influence  of  the  Reactionary  con- 
ditions under  which  the  peace  of  Europe  had  been 
attained  was  strongly  marked  on  her  government. 
The  Tories  in  power  largely  sympathized  with  their 
absolutist  allies :  their  own  methods  retained  in 
peace  too  much  of  the  arbitrary  character  adopted 
during  the  war  :  they  were  nervously  anxious  at 
any  sign  of  change  or  of  increased  independence 
among  the  non-privileged  classes  :  they  were  deter- 
mined to  maintain  intact  the  mingled  oligarchy 
and  monarchy  as  they  stood.  Thus  international 
;  conditions  aided  the  new  international  sympathy 
I  to  make  a  purely  local  satire  or  literature  impos- 
sible. The  kinship  of  national  ideas,  which  had  so 
long  been  growing  up  in  Europe,  had  increased  too 
much  to  allow  that  to  be  the  case. 

It  was  to  international  action  that  the  dominant 


VII]         THE  REACTION  IN  EUROPE         195 

Conservatives,  led  by  Metternich  and  Alexander  I, 
looked  to  enforce  their  ideas.  The  latter,  as  well  as 
the  policy  pursued,  embraced  discordant  elements. 
There  was  the  fanciful  document  of  the  Holy 
Alliance,  which  soon  gave  a  useful  name  to  the 
closer  union  of  the  three  despotic  powers,  Russia, 
Austria  and  Prussia.  It  expressed  fairly  well  in  a 
whimsical,  hyperbolic  way  the  notions  of  religion 
and  Divine  Right  which  formed  part  of  the 
absolutist  creed.  There  was  the  sentimental 
Liberalism,  personal  to  Tzar  Alexander,  which  first 
excited  the  hopes  of  the  Liberals,  and  then,  as  it 
faded  away  under  a  mixture  of  common-sense, 
despotic  feeling  and  a  desire  for  peace,  created 
among  them  a  bitter  sense  of  betrayal.  Finally, 
there  was  the  control  of  Europe  exercised  by  the 
four  victorious  Powers  as  a  part  of  the  spoils 
wrested  from  Napoleon.  It  was  at  the  same  time 
conservative  in  its  efforts  to  maintain  the  status 
quo,  and  disruptive  owing  to  the  unlikeness  and  the 
diverse  interests  of  its  members,  England  being 
specially  divergent  from  the  rest. 

In  this  state  of  affairs  the  policy  of  the  Liberals, 
if  a  trend  of  opinion  can  be  called  a  policy,  was 
almost  prescribed  for  them.  In  England  they  were 
bound  to  support  the  old  Whig  doctrine  as  to  the 
monarchy  and  to  opposgjhc  government's  measures 
of  repression^.  As  to  foreign  affairs,  the  treaties  of 
"Tienna  and  the  "Holy  Alliance"  were  the  objects 
of  their  bitter  hatred  ;  for  the  first  contained  the 

13—2 


196  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [cH. 

negation  of  national  aspirations,  and  in  the  second 
lay  the  guarantee  of  the  organized  system  of 
despotism  and  stagnation  throughout  Europe. 

Simultaneously  with  this  international  phase  of 
politics  came  an  analogous  phenomenon  in  litera- 
ture. Great  champions  of  either  cause  arose,  of 
European  influence  as  well  as  reputation  :  and 
both  sides  together  combine  to  form  the  Romantic 

1  school  of  literature,!  if  one  may  venture  to  group 
the  various  movements  in  different  countries  in  so 
definite  a  relationship  to  one  another.  The  Con- 
servative protagonists  in  the  years  following  1815 
were  Chateaubriand  and  Scott.  Equal  to  them 
in  influence,  but  on  the  Liberal  side,  was  Byron 
(1788—1824). 

V  The  greater  part  of  Byron's  work  served  the 
cause  of  Liberalism  more  by  its  tendencies  than 
by  any  direct  support.  He  represented  the  destruc- 
tive forces  which  were  breaking  up  the  older 
fabric  of  society.  He  abandons  the  discreet, 
aristocratic  reserve    of  men   under   the    Ancien 

/Regime,  and  is  undisguisedly  egotistic.  Their 
hackneyed  phrases  are  partly  rejuvenated  in  a  rich, 
coloured  verse.  Their  narrowness,  which  reduced 
all  characters  and  times  to  an  unreal  pattern  of 
contemporary  manners,  gives  way  to  dramatic 
sympathies  showing  themselves  in  vivid  local  colour 
and  in  a  sense  of  the  perspective  of  history.  A 
crowd  of  wild  composite  passions  succeed  the 
abstract    phantoms    which    had    suited    the  stiff* 


VII]  BYROISr  197 

decorum  just  passing  away.  He  shows  a  reversion 
to  the  bold  imagination  of  the  Elizabethans,  to 
whom  the  new  classes,  then  rising  into  prominence, 
had  perhaps  more  kinship  than  had  the  generations 
of  Pope  and  Johnson.  And  the  memory  of  the 
Napoleonic  times,  so  full  of  dramatic  events  and 
tragic  change,  made  men  desire  still  more  some 
imaginative  relief  from  the  drab  days  of  the 
Restoration. 

Byron,  then,  supplied  the  needs  of  his  contempo- 
raries, and  he  supplied  them  with  a  triumphant 
energy  which  has  retained  him  among  the  im- 
mortals. It  was  a  moral  energy,  too,  one  of  revolt 
against  cant  and  defiance  of  obsolete  formulas, 
now  grown  a  clog.  But  in  whatever  aspect,  it  is 
energy  which  combines  and  inspires  the  great 
qualities  of  his  verse.  — — 7 

Part  of  his  originality  lay  in  his  choice   of    ' 
models.     It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  decadence  of 
English  poetry  during  the  eighteenth  century  was    . 
accompanied  by  a  narrow  devotion  to  the  classic   \ 
French  masterpieces.  I  No  doubt  this  was  largely 
due  to  mere  coinciHence.    French  poetry  itself 
was  decadent  at  the  same  time.     The  conditions  of 
society  which  govern  taste  had  some  resemblance 
in  both  countries.     But  still  there  was  perhaps 
some  deep-rooted  diversity  of  temperament  which 
made  a  predominant  French  influence  in  English 
literature  bring  serious  disadvantages  with  it.     The 
abundance  of  the  natural  English  style  was  stunted 


198  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

in  the  classic  school,  sparing  of  detail  and  effect  as 
the  latter  was.  Its  varied  harmony  was  destroyed 
in  the  attempt  to  produce  the  equable  flow  of 
French  verse.  And  the  French  insistence  on  rules 
and  principles  damped  an  irregular,  but  glowing 
inspiration.  Pedantry  in  verse-making  is  perhaps 
the  deadliest  foe  to  poetry.  ^NTow  Byron,  like 
Milton  and  many  of  the  Elizabethans,  wa«  a  student 
of  Italian  literature,  and,  so  far  as  he  was  affected 
by  foreign  models,  they  were  chiefly  Italian.  Thus 
the  revolt  from  an  uncongenial  authority  was 
followed  by  the  admission  of  a  subtle  persuasive 
influence.  Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  results  of  his  phil-Italic  leanings  were  mainly 
good.  The  masterpieces  of  Italian  literature, 
though  redolent  of  the  soil  from  which  they  sprang, 
were  less  apart  from  the  unbiassed  English  taste 
than  were  those  of  France.  They  belonged  mostly 
to  the  Middle  Ages  and  Renaissance,  before  the 
literary  ideals  of  the  European  nations  had  become 
either  so  divergent  or  so  Frenchified  as  later  was 
the  case.  Their  conventions  were  so  obsolete  or 
local  as  not  to  be  a  possible  false  guide  to  an 
admirer  of  them :  and  while  their  essentially 
classical  spirit  was  familiar  to  and  easily  appreciated 
by  Englishmen  owing  to  their  education,  it  had 
not  come  under  a  rigid  code  of  ceremonial  court- 
rules  like  that  of  France.  As  a  consequence,  I 
think,  its  influence  can  be  seen  in  Byron  and 
Shelley  as  a  restraining  mould  for  the  northern 


VII]  BYRON  199 

Romantic  fancy  with  its  wild  world  of  mist  and 
woodland. 

Byron,  besides,  owed  Italy  a  particular  debt  in 
his  specifically  satiric  manner.  No  other  literature 
had  so  marvellously  combined  the  grave  and  gay. 
Often  in  Ariosto's  light  irony  we  hardly  know  on 
which  aspect  the  poet  insists  most.  He  diverts 
himself  as  there  is  nothing  else  left  to  do.  A 
spirit  of  mockery  pervaded  the  air  of  Italy  in  the 
Renaissance.  Foreigners,  despots  and  ecclesiastics  \ 
could  not  be  done  away  with,  but  they  could  be 
scoffed  at  with  so  delicate  a  raillery  that  they 
could  barely  resent  it:  and  the  courtly  poets  of 
the  age  vied  with  one  another  in  the  evasive  bitter- 
ness of  their  allusions.  It  was  this  Italian  style, 
so  light,  so  gay,  so  worldly-wise  and  so  poetical  with 
it  all,  that  Byron  employed  to  reinvigorate  English 
0  satire.  The  witty  simplicity  of  Pulci  and  Ariosto 
took  the  place  of  Churchill's  tirades.  But  Byron 
added  a  strength  and  courage  of  his  own,  herein 
unlike  the  Italians  :  and  his  spirit  is  profoundly 
tragic.  Pity  and  fear  mingle  with  our  admiration 
of  his  wit  and  of  the  scorn  of  his  invective.  There 
comes  a  terrible  clangour  from  the  silver  bow.     ^ . 

His  first  great  political  satire  had  its  origin  [ 
partly  in  accident.  The  death  of  George  III  after 
years  of  insanity  was  celebrated  as  in  duty  bound 
by  Southey,  now  a  strong  Tory  and  Poet  Laureate. 
That  excellent  man  could  not  avoid  his  "  odeous  " 
task  ;  but  in  its  irksome  performance  he  certainly 


200  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

laid  himself  open  to  criticism.  /Undeterred  by  the 
fate  of  his  Sapphics  and  JJactylics  at  Canning's 
hands,  he  chose  Hexameters  for  his  metre.  And 
the  plan  of  his  Vision  of  Judgment  was  marred 
both  by  bigotry  and  by  want  of  humour,  r  The  soulV 
of  George  III  is  borne  to  neaven  toi*  admission.  The 
Fiend  "many  headed  and  monstrous "( ?  Democracy) 
enters  a  claim  for  his  possession  and  backs  it  by 
the  evidence  of  Wilkes  and  Junius  of  letter- writing 
fame.  But  they  are  both  bad  witnesses,  the  former, 
cause  of  the  American  revolt,  says  Southey,  having 
become  gloomy  as  well  since  his  residence  in  the 
Infernal  Regions.  The  King  is  received  among 
the  Blest,  and  is  welcomed  by  the  murdered 
Prime  Minister  Perceval,  for  Southey  could  never 
forgive  the  greater  Pitt  his  anti-French  policy  of 
1792  ;  and  the  poem  ends  with  scenes  of  heavenly 
triumph. 

This  was  a  dangerous  work  to  publish  while 
any  satirist  lived.  But  Southey  further  stirred  up 
enmity  by  the  passage  on  the  Satanic  school  in 
his  preface.  In  words  as  weighty  as  fine  prose 
and  zeal  for  the  purity  of  literature  could  make 
them  he  denounced  the  libertinism  and  irreligion 
of  the  new  Romanticists,  of  whom  Byron  and 
Shelley  were  the  chief.  iTo  us  the  force  of  the 
attack  may  be  somewhat  lessened  by  Southey's 
conviction  that  all  deviations,  theoretic  or  other- 
wise, from  the  accepted  code  of  which  he  was 
become  an  adherent  implied  a  fathomless  moral 


VII]  BYRON  201 

turpitude.  Yet  one  can  hardly  doubt  that  in  the 
main  he  was  right.  The  author  of  Don  Juan  had 
not  only  borrowed  Italian  virtues.  The  licence 
and  almost  gruesome  cynicism  of  Italian  literature 
were  to  be  found  there  expressed  with  audacious 
courage  ;  and  whatever  pleas  may  be  justly  raised 
against  prudishness  in  letters,  there  surely  its 
opposite  was  overdone.  _- 


Southey  had  had  a  personal  grievance  against 
the   chief  of  the   Satanic  school.     In  the  mock 
dedication  of  Don  Juan,  published  separately  in    \ 
1818  with  a  pretence  of  anonymity,  Byron  had     j 
made  a  brutal  attack  on  him  and  the  Tory  ministfiE — ^ 
Castlereagh./    The  vulgar  spite  of  these  verses  is  so 
pronounced'  as  to  destroy  much  of  the  effect  of 
their  wit ;  yet  one  nobler  stanza  will  show  their 
keenness. 

Where  shall  I  turn  me  not  to  view  its^  bonds, 

For  I  will  never  feel  them? — Italy! 
Thy  late  reviving  Roman  soul  desponds 

Beneath  the  lie  this  State-thing  breathed  o'er  thee-  - 
Thy  clanking  chain,  and  Erin's  yet  green  wounds, 

Have  voices — tongues  to  cry  aloud  for  me. 
Europe  has  slaves — allies— kings — armies  still— 
And  Southey  lives  to  sing  them  very  ill. 

Here  we  have  nearly  all  the  grievances  of  the 
European  Liberals  heaped  together.  Italy,  of 
course,  parcelled  out  anew  among  her  despots,  in 
reality  an  Austrian  province,  was  a  chief  sufferer 
from  the  Viennese  Congress,  while  a  national 
spirit  and  the  hope  for  better  things  had  revived 

^  Byrou  uses  this  taunt  against  Castlereagh. 


202  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

under  Napoleon  and  made  the  present  more  bitter. 
One  can  only  wish  the  attack  on  Southey  had  been 

limit^  to  the  last  line.   — ^— — >_ 

However,  Southey  struck  a  heavy  counterblow, 
and  now  in  1821  Byron  prepared  his  retort.  It, 
likewise  named  The  Vision  of  Judgment,  was  a 
parody  of  Southey's  poem  written  in  the  ottava 
rima  of  which  Byron  was  a  master.  In  these 
splendid  stanzas  all  the  weapons  of  satire  are 
employed  one  after  another,  jibing,  irony,  humour, 
invective  and  contempt ;  and  they  alternate  with 
passages  of  a  tempestuous  imagination.  Through- 
out they  are  never  prosaic,  pompous  or  halting,  and 
I\  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  satire  which  keeps  so 
i  sustained  and  high  a  level  of  pure  poetry.  Byron 
himself  is  an  attractive  figure  in  it  with  all  his 
jRiilfa  of  vulgar  fury  and  cynicismj  After  the 
pettifogging  satirists  of  the  last  century  and  their 
mean  skirmishes,  he  comes  to  the  lists  like  Tristram 
in  The  Last  Tournament,  and  lesser  men  shrink  to 
the  bounds  before  him. 

Byron  follows    pretty  faithfully_ihe__pIa»-o^ 
outhey  s  hexameters.  J  His  opening  scene  at  the 
gates  of  Heaven  burlesques  that  of  his  foe,  and  is 
even  fuller  of  moral  judgments. 

St  Peter  sat  by  the  celestial  gate: 
His  keys  were  rusty,  and  the  lock  was  dull, 

So  little  trouble  had  been  given  of  late: 
Not  that  the  place  by  any  means  was  full, 

But  since  the  Gallic  era  "eighty-eight" 
The  Devils  had  ta'en  a  longer,  stronger  pull, 

And  "a  pull  altogether,"  as  they  say 

At  sea — which  drew  most  souls  another  way. 


VII]  BYRON  203 

The  Angels  all  were  singing  out  of  tune, 
And  hoarse  with  having  little  else  to  do, 

Excepting  to  wind  up  the  sun  and  moon. 
Or  curb  a  runaway  young  star  or  two, 

Or  wild  colt  of  a  comet,  which  too  soon 
Broke  out  of  bounds  o'er  the  ethereal  blue. 

Splitting  some  planet  with  its  playful  tail. 

As  boats  are  sometimes  by  a  wanton  whale. 

The  Guardian  Seraphs  had  retired  on  high, 
Finding  their  charges  past  all  care  below; 

Terrestrial  business  filled  nought  in  the  sky 
Save  the  Recording  Angel's  black  bureau; 

Who  found,  indeed,  the  facts  to  multiply 
With  such  rapidity  of  vice  and  woe, 

That  he  had  stripp'd  oflF  both  his  wings  in  quills. 

And  yet  was  in  arrear  of  human  ills. 

His  business  so  augmented  of  late  years. 
That  he  was  forced,  against  his  will,  no  doubt, 

(Just  like  those  cherubs,  earthly  ministers),  , 

For  some  resource  to  turn  himself  about, 

And  claim  the  help  of  his  celestial  peers. 
To  aid  him  ere  he  should  be  quite  worn  out 

By  the  increased  demand  for  his  remarks: 

Six  Angels  and  twelve  Saints  were  named  his  clerks. 

This  was  a  handsome  board — at  least  for  Heaven; 

And  yet  they  had  even  then  enough  to  do, 
So  many  Conquerors'  cars  were  daily  driven. 

So  many  kingdoms  fitted  up  anew; 
Each  day,  too,  slew  its  thousands  six  or  seven, 

Till  at  the  crowning  carnage,  Waterloo, 
They  threw  their  pens  dowTi  in  divine  disgust — 
The  page  was  so  besmear'd  with  blood  and  dust. 

The  rushing  energy  of  Byron's  verse  is  no  less 
ready  to  deal  with  the  sublime.  As  in  Southey's 
poem  George  III  is  conveyed  towards  Heaven  by 
a  band  of  Angels,  and  Satan  appears  to  make  his 
claim. 

But  bringing  up  the  rear  of  this  bright  host 

A  spirit  of  a  difi"erent  aspect  waved 
His  wings,  like  thunder-clouds  above  some  coast 

Whose  barren  beach  with  frequent  wrecks  is  paved; 


904  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

His  hnm  ms  Hke  the  de^  "wheia  tempest-toes'd; 

Fieroe  and  nnfiillMiiiiafale  thoughts  engraved 
Eternal  wnlli  on  Ins  immortil  fiiee, 
And  wkere  he  gaaed  %  g^oom  pemded  spoM^ 


R  k  noticeable  tiiat  the  usual  argoment 
advanced  against  the  employment  of  the  off  ova 
rima  in  serious  poetry,  that  the  final  couplet  has 
too  epigranunatic  an  efiect,  does  not  seem  to  apply 
eren  to  Byron's  satiric  rerae.  The  last  couplet  is 
never  isolated  unless  it  is  so  designedly  for  efiect 
At  the  same  time  the  stanza's  slipping,  rapid 
movement  mast  be  admitted  to  require  "moving 
accident "  for  its  theme.  It  cannot  pause  or  reflect 
foi'  long ;  and  I  imagine  this  is  one  reason  for  the 
crowding  of  notions,  details  and  iUastrations  in 
Byron's  use  of  it  The  verse  needs  some  substitute 
for  action  when  it  stays  to  think.  But  no  doubt 
the  avoidance  of  real  meditation  was  congenial  to 
Byron's  genius.  **  The  moment  he  reflects,  he  is  a 
child, "  Goethe  said.  .- ^  '  "N 

To  resome  the  stoiy, /the  Archangel  Michael  \ 
comes  forward  to  defend  the  King  from  Satan,  and    J 
tiie  latter  is  invited  to  state  his  case.     Two  or  three  / 
stanzas  of  it  must  be  quoted,  for  Satan  is  in  politics/ 
a  sublimer  Whig.  J 

When  this  old,  Uind,  mad,  helpless,  weak,  po<H'  wwiii 
B^an  in  ronth's  first  Woom  and  flash  to  reign. 

The  worid  and  he  both  wore  a  different  form, 
And  much  of  earth  and  all  the  watery  plain 

Of  Ocean  call'd  him  king:  through  many  a  storm 
His  isles  had  floated  on  the  abyss  of  Time; 
For  the  roa^rfa  virtnes  chose  them  for  their  clime. 


VII]  BYROX  205 

He  came  to  his  sceptre  young;  he  leaves  it  old: 

Look  to  the  state  in  which  he  found  his  realm. 
And  left  it;  and  his  annals  too  behold, 

How  to  a  minion  first  he  gave  the  helm; 
How  grew  upon  his  heart  a  thirst  for  gold, 

The  beggar's  vice,  which  can  but  overwhelm 
The  meanest  hearts;  and  for  the  rest,  but  glance 
Thine  eye  along  America  and  France. 
Tis  true  he  was  a  tool  from  first  to  last 

(I  have  the  workmen  safe);  but  as  a  tool 
So  let  him  be  consumed-     From  out  the  past 

Of  ages,  since  mankind  have  known  the  rule 
Of  monarchs — from  the  bloody  rolls  amassed 

Of  Sin  and  Slaughter — from  the  Caesars'"  school, 
Take  the  worst  pupil;  and  produce  a  reign 
More  drench'd  with  gore,  more  cumberd  with  the  slain. 
He  ever  warrd  with  freedom  and  the  fr«e: 

Nations  as  men,  home  subjects,  foreign  foes, 
So  that  they  utter'd  the  word  ''Liberty!" 

Found  George  the  Third  their  first  opponent     TVTiose 
HistoiT  was  ever  stain'd  as  his  will  be 

With  national  and  individual  woes? 

Did  Byron  know  he  was  misreading  history  in 
this  ingenious  selection  of  events  from  George's 
reign,  or  did  he  give  it  in  good  faith?  Either 
way  the  merit  of  the  verse  is  the  same,  and  its 
eftect  too  :  Byron  stands  among  those  creative 
forces  which  have  shaped  ^e  world  a&  it  isr 

He  had  not,)  however,  ^^yet  done  with  Southey. 

^^Skes  and  Junius  are  again  called  as  witnesses,  a 
^  very  different  pair  from  Southey 's  ghosts.  Both 
phantoms  are  extraordinarily  alive.  Wilkes  ex- 
tends a  contemptuous  forgiveness  to  his  royal  foe  ; 
[  Junius  reiterates  the  truth  of  his  charges.  The 
\  Archangel  asks  if  there  was  not  exaggeration. 

"Thou  wast 
Too  bitter — is  it  not  so? — in  thy  gloom 
Of  passion?" — "Passion!"  cried  the  phantom  dim, 
"I  loved  my  country,  and  I  hated  him." 


206  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

But  now  the  demon  Asmodeus  creates  a  diversion 
by  haling  up  Southey  himself,  on  a  charge  of  con- 
tempt by  anticipating  the  verdict  of  the  court  in 
his  Vision.  To  the  horror  of  the  assembly  the 
Laureate  prepares  to  read  his  poem. 

A  general  bustle  spread  throughout  the  throng, 
Which  seem'd  to  hold  all  verse  in  detestation; 

The  Angels  had  of  course  enough  of  song 
When  upon  service;  and  the  generation 

Of  ghosts  had  heard  too  much  in  life,  not  long 
Before,  to  profit  by  a  new  occasion: 

The  Monarch,  mute  till  then,  exclaim'd,  "What!  what! — 

Pye  come  again?    No  more — no  more  of  that!" 

The  tumult  grew;  an  universal  cough 
Convulsed  the  skies,  as  during  a  debate. 

When  Castlereagh  has  been  up  long  enough 
(Before  he  was  first  minister  of  state, 

I  mean— the  slaves  hear  now);  some  cried    'Off,  off!" 
As  at  a  farce;  till,  grown  quite  desperate. 

The  Bard  St  Peter  pray'd  to  interpose. 

(Himself  an  author)  only  for  his  prose. 

Southey  is  at  length  allowed  to  plead ;  he  is, 
he  says,  an  author  by  profession  on  all  subjects. 

He  had  written  praises  of  a  Regicide; 

He  had  written  praises  of  all  Kings  whatever; 
He  had  written  for  republics  far  and  wide. 

And  then  against  them  bitterer  than  ever; 
For  pantisocracy  he  once  had  cried 

Aloud,  a  scheme  less  moral  than  'twas  clever; 
Then  grew  a  hearty  anti-jacobin— 
Had  turn'd  his  coat— and  would  have  turn'd  his  skin. 

Byron's  railing  was  bitter  and  unfair,  but  telling 
to  say  the  least ;  and  the  last  words  he  puts  in 
Southey's  mouth  had  some  truth  at  bottom. 

"Now  you  shall  judge,  all  people— yes— you  shall 
Judge  with  my  judgment!   and  by  my  decision 
Be  guided  who  shall  enter  heaven  or  fall. 


VII]  BYRON  207 

I  settle  all  these  things  by  intuition, 

Times  present,  past,  to  come — Heaven — Hell — and  all, 
Like  King  Alfonso,    When  I  thus  see  double, 
I  save  the  Deity  some  worlds  of  trouble." 


Southey's  fault  was  indeed  this  calm  conviction  of 
rectitude.  "Now,  said  my  heavenly  Teacher,  all 
is  clear,"  is  a  characteristic  line  of  his,  with 
which  perhaps  we  have  less  sympathy  than  his 
contemporaries  showed.  With  Byron  himself  a 
haunting  doubt  seems  ever  present,  but  none  the 
less  he  rides  forward  to  test  the  event. 
y  When  at  last  we  reach  the  discomfiture  of  the 

I  I  Laureate  at  the  hands  of  St  Peter  and  The  Vision 
L  of  Judgment  closes,  we  feel,  I  think,  that,  in  spite 
of  his  personal  virulence  towards  the  now  reverend 
figure  of  Southey,  Byron  was  fighting  for  a  cause 
and  for  principles.  Liberalism  in  politics  and 
thought  gives  the  key-note  of  the  poem.  He 
opposes  the  narrow,  self-righteous  dogmatism  of 

I  the  old  school,  which  had  been  hardened  almost 
into  obscurantism  by  its  successful  resistance  to  the 
Jacobins  and  by  the  latters'  disregard  of  history, 
experience  and  common-sense.  Now  Byron  was 
able    to  improve  on  those  predecessors  of  his, 

^       insomuch  as  he  possessed  the  historical  sense  in  a 

I  high  degree.  It  was  only  by  that  quality  that 
theoretic  Liberalism  could  find  feet  to  go  upon  in 
the  actual  world.  A  moral  sense,  Byron,  whose 
own  was  not  greatly  active,  could  not  aid  in 
developing  in  others,  and  a  moral  standard  he 
barely  possessed.     For  both  those  necessaries  the 


7 


208  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

movement  was  indebted  to  purer  heroes  of  its  own 
or  of  its  opponents. 

It  is  tempting  to  dwell  on  The  Vision  of  Judg- 
ment owing  to  its  superiority  to  all  English  satires 
succeeding  those  of  Pope.  For  a  poetical  equal 
we  have  to  go  to  Dry  den's  Absalom  and  AcJiitopheL 
It  is  not  easy,  however,  to  compare  the  two.  In 
humanity,  in  good-breeding  and  in  convincing 
power  Dryden  is,  I  think,  far  superior.  Shaftes- 
bury's character  has  never  quite  recovered  from 
his  aspersions.  He  remains  to  us  the  turbulent 
demagogue  who  could  not  have  legalized  revolution 
like  the  men  of  1689.  If  this  is  an  unjust  view, 
Dryden  has  the  credit  of  warping  history  ;  if  true, 
he  had  an  admirable  insight  into  the  course  of 
politics.  But  in  poetry  and  imagination,  in  variety 
of  powers  and  in  force  of  ideas,  Byron  much 
surpasses  him.  If  only  he  could  have  compassion- 
ated the  senseless  clay ! 

Byron's  second  long  political  poem  was  The 
Age  of  Bronze,  written  in  1822-3,  just  after  the 
Congress  of  Verona.  An  outburst  of  Liberalism 
had  occurred  in  1820.  First,  the  Spanish  Liberals 
had  forced  an  extreme  democratic  constitution  on 
the  restored  Bourbon,  Ferdinand  VII,  who  had 
wearied  his  subjects  by  persistent  misgovernment. 
Then  the  Neapolitans  had  followed  suit.  Elsewhere 
revolutionary  unrest  was  prevalent  among  the 
middle  classes  ;  while  in  Greece  a  revolt  broke  out 
against  the   Turks,    mostly   caused  by  religious 


VII]  BYRON  209 

antipathy  and  their  state  of  servitude,  but  also 
coloured  by  Western  Liberal  notions,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  principle  of  nationality  and  classic 
enthusiasm,  made  it  much  in  favour  with  Liberals 
everywhere.  The  Great  Powers  were  somewhat 
divided  in  sympathy  but  their  action  at  first 
was  unanimous.  They  agreed  at  the  Congresses  of 
Troppau  and  Laybach  to  consider  the  Greeks  as 
rebels  against  their  legitimate  sovran,  and  the 
Neapolitans  as  pernicious  revolutionaries  within 
Austria's  sphere  of  action.  Spain  was  considered 
too  distant  to  be  dangerous  or  to  be  easily 
corrected  Accordingly  in  1821  Naples  was  con- 
quered and  a  further  Piedmontese  revolution  put 
down  by  Austria,  while  Sultan  and  Greek  were  left 
to  their  own  devices,  that  is  to  an  exterminating 
war.  These  circumstances  have  to  be  remembered 
when  we  judge  Byron's  violence  against  the  English 
Minister  who  supported  repressive  measures.  Cas- 
tlereagh,  although  he  was  much  less  inclined  to 
common  action  than  the  "  Holy  Alliance  "  were,  had 
little  objection  to  piecemeal  coercion  by  Austria  or 
by  any  other  power  concerned  so  long  as  the  balance 
of  power  was  not  upset.  The  prospects  of  the 
Liberals  meantime  grew  worse.  Alexander  became 
more  despotic  in  temper.  In  Germany  the  univer- 
sities and  press  were  put  under  surveillance,  and 
all  political  activity  was  checked.  Spain  seemed 
their  last  hope,  but  the  Spanish  Liberals  were  not 
equal  to  the  occasion.  An  inexperienced  minority 
o.  14 


210  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

at  best,  they  had  the  Church  and  peasantry  against 
them ;  and  very  soon  Spain  was  in  a  condition  of 
anarchy. 

It  was  chiefly  to  consider  the  Spanish  question 
that  the  Congress  of  Verona  met :  and  the  result 
of  its  deliberations  was  that  France  should  inter- 
vene to  restore  despotism  in  Spain  with  the  moral 
support  of  the  "Holy  Alliance."  But  not  with  that 
of  England.  Canning,  just  come  to  power,  objected, 
like  Castlereagh,  to  the  establishment  of  a  Directory 
for  Europe.  He  feared  for  English  interests,  if 
France  became  predominant  in  Spain.  Then  he 
was  too  English  and  too  great  a  Parliamentarian 
to  sympathize  with  despotism.  In  result,  he  broke 
openly  with  the  "Holy  Alliance"  and  with  the 
principle  of  maintaining  the  sovrans  of  1815  in  their 
possessions ;  and  by  recognizing  the  revolted  Ameri- 
can colonies  of  Spain  as  independent,  he  deprived 
France  of  her  greatest  chance  of  gain  and  limited 
the  supremacy  of  the  "  Holy  Alliance"  to  Europe. 

Thus  in  Dec.  1822  the  issue  was  clear,  and  it 
was  an  obvious  move  on  the  part  of  the  Liberals 
to  write  down  the  "  Holy  Alliance"  and  the  system 
of  Congress-government  of  Europe;  and  Byron 
attempted  the  task  in  The  Age  of  Bronze.  The 
poem  cannot  compete  with  The  Vision  of  Judgment 
for  fire  and  genius.  Nevertheless  it  has  great 
merits.  It  is  over-rhetorical  in  the  school  of 
Churchill ;  yet  the  rhetoric  has  life  in  it.  He  begins 
by  a  lengthy   retrospect  of  the  great    days    of 


vii]  BYRON  2H 

Napoleon,  and  then  celebrates  the  Liberal  Move- 
ment which  is  to  regenemte  Europe.  Then  he 
turns  to  the  Allies. 

But  lo !  a  Congress !     What !  that  hallo w'd  name 
Which  freed  the  Atlantic!    May  we  hope  the  same 
For  outworn  Europe? 


Who  now  assemble  at  the  holy  call? 

The  blest  Alliance,  which  says  three  are  all! 

An  earthly  Trinity!   which  wears  the  shape 

Of  Heaven's,  as  man  is  mimick'd  by  the  ape. 

A  pious  Unity!  in  purpose  one — 

To  melt  three  fools  to  a  Napoleon. 

So  he  continues  to  describe  the  members  of  the 
European  Alliance  one  by  one  ;  the 

coxcomb  Czar... 
With  no  objection  to  true  Liberty, 
Except  that  it  would  make  the  nations  free; 

then  "  good  classic  Louis  "  on  his  uneasy  throne ; 
and  lastly  England.  Canning  extorts  his  praise, 
though  he  sees  well  enough  what  an  insecure  hold 
the  Minister  had  on  his  party.  But  for  that  party 
and  indeed  for  the  Whigs  too  he  reserves  only  a 
bitter  contempt. 

See  these  inglorious  Cincinnati  swarm, 

Farmers  of  war,  dictators  of  the  farm; 

Their  ploughshare  was  the  sword  in  hireling  hands. 

Their  fields  manured  by  gore  of  other  lands; 

Safe  in  their  barns,  these  Sabine  tillers  sent 

Their  brethren  out  to  battle — why?  for  rent! 

Year  after  year  they  voted  cent,  per  cent., 

Blood,  sweat  and  tear-wrung  millions — why?  for  rent! 

They  roar'd,  they  dined,  they  drank,  they  swore  they  meant 

To  die  for  England — why  then  live? — for  rent! 

The  peace  has  made  one  general  malcontent 

Of  these  high-market  patriots ;  war  was  rent ! 

Their  love  of  country,  millions  all  misspent, 

How  reconcile?  by  reconciling  rent! 

14—2 


212  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

And  will  they  not  repay  the  treasures  lent? 
No:   down  with  everything,  and  up  with  rent! 
Their  good,  ill,  health,  wealth,  joy  or  discontent. 
Being,  end,  aim,  religion  — rent— rent — rentl 

All  the  meaner  part  of  contemporary  Toryism 
stands  pilloried  here.  And  certainly  the  attempt 
to  keep  up  war-prices  for  food-stuffs  by  means  of 
enormous  protective  duties  is  hard  to  defend.  As 
poetry  there  is  too  much  declamation  in  the  piece  : 
yet  at  its  worst  there  is  a  genius  denied  to 
Churchill  in  it ;  and  taken  as  a  political  mani- 
festo, Byron's  practical  sagacity  made  him  seize  on 
real  points  for  criticism,  and  press  them  home  in 
a  statesmanlike  spirit.  What  a  contrast  there 
is  in  the  vaguer  satires  of  Shelley !  We  hardly  do 
justice  to  Byron's  genius,  if  we  do  not  reckon  him 
among  those  few  modern  poets  who  could  treat 
of_affairs,  and  not  decline  into  prose. 

It  was  to  affairs  that  he  finally  turned.    He  had 

always    sympathized    with    the   Greeks    in   their 

struggle  for  independence.     He  now  took  an  active 

part  in  it,  and  sailed  to  Hellas.     He  could  do  but 

little,  but  that  was  done  well.     Too  soon  he  was 

stricken  down  by  fever,  and  in  April  1824  he  died. 

If  thou  regret'st  thy  youth,  why  live? 

The  land  of  honourable  death 
Is  here: — up  to  the  field,  and  give 

Away  thy  breath! 

There  is  a  gulf  between  Byron  and  Shelley 
(1792—1822),  his  fellow-poet  of  the  "Satanic" 
school.  Byron  never  loses  hold  of  reality.  Shelley 
is  a  dreamer  who  sees  mankind  like  the  spectre  of 


yiij  SHELLEY  213 

the  Brocken  cast  on  a  cloud  of  imaginative  theories. 
In  consequence,  though  he  wrote  persistently  on 
political  themes  and  attacked  the  Reaction  in 
poem  after  poem,  there  is  very  little  satire  of  his  on 
definite  events.  He  loves  a  general  denunciation 
or  aspiration,  divorced  from  earth,  like  that  in  the 
Ode  to  Liberty  on  Kingship. 

0,  that  the  free  would  stamp  the  impious  name 
Of  KING  into  the  dust!  or  write  it  there, 

So  that  this  blot  upon  the  page  of  fame 
Were  as  a  serpent's  path,  which  the  light  air 

Erases,  and  the  flat  sands  close  behind! 

The  effect  here  is  unsatiric :  the  image  is  too 
beautiful  to  be  used  for  anything  vile.  But  Shelley 
could  write  true  satires,  and  one  at  least.  The  Mash 
of  Anarchy,  has  admirable  qualities  of  imagination 
and  style.  It  was  written  on  the  occasion  of  the 
"Manchester  Massacre"  of  1819,  when  a  public 
meeting  was  clumsily  dispersed  by  Hussars  at  the 
magistrates'  orders,  and  some  persons  were  killed. 
The  indignation  of  the  Liberals  at  this  result  of 
official  incompetence  was  great,  as  well  it  might  be: 
and  Shelley  came  forward  to  express  it  in  verse. 
Yet  even  here  he  sees  representative  figures,  and 
the  Mask  is  an  allegory. 

As  I  lay  asleep  in  Italy 
There  came  a  voice  from  over  the  Sea, 
And  with  great  power  it  forth  led  me 
To  walk  in  the  visions  of  Poesy. 

I  met  Murder  on  the  way — 
He  had  a  mask  like  Castlereagh — 
Very  smooth  he  looked,  yet  grim; 
Seven  bloodhounds  followed  him: 


214  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

All  were  fat;  and  well  they  might 

Be  in  admirable  plight, 

For  one  by  one,  and  two  by  two. 

He  tossed  them  human  hearts  to  chew 

Which  from  his  wide  cloak  he  drew. 


And  many  more  Destructions  played 
In  this  ghastly  masquerade, 
All  disguised,  even  to  the  eyes, 
Like  Bishops,  lawyers,  peers  or  spies. 

Last  came  Anarchy:  he  rode 

On  a  white  horse,  splashed  with  blood; 

He  was  pale  even  to  the  lips, 

Like  Death  in  the  Apocalypse. 

And  he  wore  a  kingly  crown; 

And  in  his  grasp  a  sceptre  shone; 

On  his  brow  this  mark  I  saw — 

"I  AM  GOD,  AND  KING,  AND  LAW!" 

Lawyers  and  priests,  a  motley  crowd, 
To  the  earth  their  pale  brows  bowed; 
Like  a  bad  prayer  not  over  loud. 
Whispering — "Thou  art  Law  and  God." 

The  beauty  of  these  Imes  needs  no  comment, 

and  their  technical  negligence  very  little  defence. 

What  might  surprise  us  perhaps  is  the  remarkable 

amount  of  common-sense  concealed  in  the  "  baseless 

fabric  of  this  vision."     He  points  out  where  the 

strength  of  the  demos  lay. 

Rise  like  Lions  after  slumber 

In  unvanquishable  number. 

Shake  your  chains  to  earth  like  dew, 

Which  in  sleep  had  fallen  on  you — 

Ye  are  many — they  are  few. 

He  has  been  much  laughed  at  on  the  count  of 
describing  liberty  as  something  to  eat. 

No— in  countries  that  are  free 
Such  starvation  cannot  be 
As  in  England  now  we  see. 


VII]  SHELLEY  215 

But  after  all  the  acquisition  of  political  rights  by 
the  artisan  class  since  Shelley's  time  has  been 
followed  by  their  use  of  them  to  improve  their 
economic  status.  Corn  Laws  and  anti-Combination 
Laws  could  hardly  have  existed  with  an  enfranch- 
ized labouring  population.  Shelley  of  course  was 
not  conducting  a  careful  argument.  But  surely  he 
was  right  in  saying  that  liberty  was  only  imper- 
fectly in  being  in  the  oligarchic  England  of  1820, 
and  that  the  tree  might  be  known  by  its  fruits. 
His  underlying  logic  was  sound. 

Shelley's  influence  began  after  his  death ;  during 
his  life  he  was  ineffectual,  and  it  is  characteristic 
that  The  Mash  of  Anarchy  was  not  published  till 
1832.  His  other  really  political  poems  were  like- 
wise posthumous.  The  best  of  them  is  the  sonnet, 
England  in  1819,  with  all  its  exaggeration,  such  as 
in  the  line — 

"A  Senate, — Time's  worst  statute  unrepealed." 
His  comic  satires,  such  as  Swellfoot  the  Tyrant, 
are  dreary  failures.  He  was  only  at  home  in 
higher  realms  of  the  imagination,  where  he  himself 
seems  to  move,  a  "glorious  phantom,"  among  the 
dreams  he  created. 

With  Byron's  death  we  emerge  from  the  fervent 
period  of  the  English  Romantic  movement.  Keats 
and  Shelley  were  already  gone.  Wordsworth,  the 
leader  of  the  other  Revolutionary  school,  and 
Coleridge,  who  shared  the  tendencies  of  both,  were 
silent.    Only  Scott  remained  of  those  authors  we 


216  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

now  think  great.  There  was  still  Campbell  to 
write  fine  verse  on  the  Polish  revolt  of  1830,  but 
he  was  a  satirist  in  a  past  taste.  Many  lesser  men, 
however,  like  Moore  and  Hood  carried  on  the 
traditions  of  the  Romanticists  and  Lake  Poets ; 
and  the  early- Victorian  poets,  all  of  them  their 
true  spiritual  descendants,  were  soon  to  come  to 
the  fore. 

Political  conditions  were  rapidly  changing.  If 
we  take  the  year  1834,  ten  years  after  Byron's 
death,  we  find  England  handed  over  to  the  Middle 
Classes  and  in  full  tide  of  reform ;  France  freed 
from  Divine  Right,  and  a  soi-disant  Liberal 
Power ;  Greece  and  Belgium  independent,  and 
Spain  and  Portugal  constitutional  monarchies, 
rocking  miserably  to  and  fro  in  the  attempt  to 
progress.  On  the  other  side  Metternich  is  trium- 
phant in  Germany  and  Italy,  while  Poland  is  crushed 
by  Russian  despotism.  Yet  even  in  Central  Europe 
there  was  ground  for  hope.  The  party  of  "  Young 
Italy, "  led  by  Mazzini,  was  creating  a  new  public 
opinion  for  the  peninsula,  and  in  spite  of  Metternich 
a  steady  drift  to  Liberalism  was  taking  place 
among  the  German  bourgeois. 

The  actual  outbreak,  however,  was  sudden.  By 
1848  the  French  were  weary  of  the  sham  Liber- 
alism of  the  Monarchy  of  July ;  and  Louis 
Philippe's  throne  was  overturned  with  astonishing 
ease.  The  news  of  the  establishment  of  the  Second 
Republic  was  a  signal  to  the  Liberals  elsewhere. 


VII]         THE  REVOLUTIONS  OF  1848         217 

All  over  Western  Europe  riots  in  the  capitals 
were  followed  by  the  grant  of  constitutions.  In 
Germany  these  revolutions  were  mainly  loyalist, 
but  over  the  non-Germanic  provinces  of  Austria, 
the  movement  was  largely  one  of  revolt  against  the 
dynasty.  The  Hapsburgs  had  identified  themselves 
with  reaction  and  German  predominance.  They 
were  the  foes  of  the  aspirations  of  the  nationalities 
they  ruled.  Soon  Hungary  and  Italy  were  in 
rebellion.  The  pro- Austrian  dynasties  of  the  latter 
were  driven  out,  and  Charles  Albert  of  Sardinia 
headed  a  national  crusade.  Failure  indeed  was  the 
lot  of  the  Revolutionaries,  although  in  Germany 
a  little  progress  was  made.  But  Russia,  yet 
immune  from  Liberalism,  stepped  in  to  reduce 
Hungary  under  the  Hapsburgs'  sway  :  and  Austria 
was  able  to  proceed  against  the  Italians.  Disunion 
and  want  of  military  training  made  the  nationalist 
forces  far  the  weaker  of  the  two  combatants. 
Charles  Albert  was  defeated  and  abdicated: 
Lombardy  and  Venetia  were  reconquered  :  despo- 
tism was  restored  in  the  lesser  states.  The  Pope, 
Pius  IX,  who  had  shown  at  first  some  Liberal 
leanings,  had  now  become  the  bitter  foe  of  change. 
He  had  fled  from  Rome,  where  a  Republic  was 
then  set  up  ;  and  by  a  strange  direction  of  policy 
his  restoration  as  a  despot  was  undertaken  by 
Republican  France.  In  spite  of  the  gallant  resist- 
ance of  the  Italians,  this  was  effected  by  the 
French  troops ;  and  Italy  settled  down  in  forced 


218  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

repose.   Her  only  outward  gain  was  a  constitutional 
government  in  Piedmont. 

It  was  the  striking  series  of  events  I  have  just 
rehearsed  which  reawoke  the  spirit  of  international 
satire  in  England.  The  pro-Italian  sympathies  of 
Byron  were  inherited  by  the  next  generation  of 
poets,  and  were  given  their  expression  by  the  two 
Brownings.  In  Mrs  Browning  (1802-61)  sympathy 
took  the  form  of  directly  political  poetry,  which 
naturally  often  contained  satiric  passages.  Her 
husband  and  she  made  their  chief  residence  in 
Florence,  and  she  was  first  a  hopeful,  then  an 
indignant  spectator  of  the  course  of  the  Revolution. 
Casa  Guidi  Windows,  the  first  part  written  in 
1848,  the  second  in  1851,  is  the  record  of  her 
impressions.  The  First  Part,  belonging  to  the  age 
of  hope,  as  may  be  supposed,  has  little  that  is 
satirical  about  it.  Yet  even  then  she  saw  the  rocks 
ahead.  The  irresponsible  character  of  the  people, 
who  thought  the  word  Liberty  a  charm  to  bring 
all  things  right,  could  not  but  strike  her  ;  and  she 
declares  that  a  Liberal  Pope  is  a  contradiction  in 
terms. 

He  is  good  and  great 

According  to  the  deeds  a  pope  can  do; 
Most  liberal,  save  those  bonds;  affectionate, 

As  princes  may  be,  and,  as  priests  are,  true; 
But  only  the  ninth  Pius  after  eight, 

When  all's  praised  most.    At  best  and  hopefullest. 
He's  pope — we  want  a  man!     His  heart  beats  warm. 

But,  like  the  prince  enchanted  to  the  waist, 
He  sits  in  stone,  and  hardens  by  a  charm 

Into  the  marble  of  his  throne  high-placed. 


VII]  MRS  BROWNING  219 

Mild  benediction,  waves  his  saintly  arm — 
So,  good!  but  what  we  want's  a  perfect  man. 

Complete  and  all  alive :  half  travertine 
Half  suits  our  need,  and  ill  subserves  our  plan. 

A  devil's  advocate  might  say  that  here  we  have 
Robert  Browning  made  perspicuous  :  and  certainly 
Mrs  Browning  has  changed  much  from  the  Eliza- 
beth Barrett  who  wrote  the  Brown  Rosary.  But 
"perfume"  of  style  little  agrees  with  a  grave 
political  poem  and  a  workaday  subject.  Mrs 
Browning  began,  like  Tennyson,  as  a  classicizing 
Romanticist,  taking  form  from  one  tendency,  and 
feeling  and  sometimes  theme  from  the  other.  She 
was  now,  like  Browning,  a  Romanticist  still,  but 
full  of  subtle  present-day  thought ;  like  her  husband 
she  looks  back  continually  to  the  Past,  without 
ever  forgetting  the  nineteenth-century  standpoint 
For  the  rest,  the  excellence  of  the  verse  and  of  the 
style  goes  without  saying. 

Her  forebodings  were  more  than  realized.  Pius 
was  indeed  a  broken  reed.  In  her  continuation 
she  says  of  the  future — 

Whatsoever  deeds  they  be 
Pope  Pius  will  be  glorified  in  none. 

Yet  he  was  to  witness  great  ecclesiastical  triumphs, 
although  those  of  Italy  were  the  theme  of  his 
lamentation.  Mrs  Browning's  disillusionment  on 
the  staying  powers  of  the  Tuscan  Liberals  was 
bitterer,  for  she  had  less  expected  it.  Like  them, 
she  had  overrated  the  power  of  ideas,  without 
habit  to  back  them,  of  patriotism  without  drill. 


220  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH. 

Perhaps,  too,  she  underrated  the  wonder  of  what 
was  accomplished  amid  all  drawbacks.  But  her 
comment  on  what  she  saw  is  true  in  its  severity. 

Long  live  the  people!     How  they  lived!  and  boiled 
And  bubbled  in  the  cauldron  of  the  street! 

How  the  young  blustered,  nor  the  old  recoiled, 
And  what  a  thunderous  stir  of  tongues  and  feet 

Trod  flat  the  palpitating  bells,  and  foiled 
The  joy-guns  of  their  echo,  shattering  it! 

How  down  they  pulled  the  Duke's  arms  everywhere! 
How  up  they  set  new  cafe-signs,  to  show 

Where  patriots  might  sip  ices  in  pure  air — 
(The  fresh  paint  smelling  somewhat)!     To  and  fro 

How  marched  the  civic  guard,  and  stopped  to  stare 
When  boys  broke  windows  in  a  civic  glow! 

How  rebel  songs  were  sung  to  loyal  tunes. 
And  bishops  cursed  in  ecclesiastic  metres. 

No  wonder  the  Grand  Duke  soon  came  back 
again :  and  yet  the  year  or  so  of  revolution  did 
something.  Not  only  did  it  give  birth  to  far  more 
practical  programmes  and  greater  solidarity  of 
feeling  between  province  and  province,  and  class 
and  class,  than  the  tentatives  of  1820  ;  but  it  also 
sifted  out  of  the  ruck  of  speakers  the  really  capable 
men  who  could  lead.  Meantime  the  prospect  was 
very  dark.     There  was  peace  of  course. 

I  loathe  to  take  its  name  upon  my  tongue. 

'Tis  nowise  peace:  'tis  treason,  stiff  with  doom,— 
'Tis  gagged  despair  and  inarticulate  wrong. 

Annihilated  Poland,  stifled  Rome, 
Dazed  Naples,  Hungary  fainting  'neath  the  thong, 

And  Austria  wearing  a  smooth  olive-leaf 
On  her  brute  forehead,  while  her  hoofs  outpress 

The  life  from  these  Italian  souls,  in  brief. 

Strong  words  :  the  unmalleable  terza  rima  becomes 
pliable  under  the  heat  of  her  emotion  ;  and  few, 
perhaps,  would  contest  her  condemnation  of  Austria 


VII]  MRS  BROWNING  221 

at  the  present  time.  But  Austria's  very  harshness 
helped  on  the  Italian  cause.  The  population  was 
converted  to  the  creed  of  national  independence. 
Particularism,  clericalism,  indolence  itself  were 
swept  away  for  a  period  by  the  strong  tide  of  hatred 
for  the  foreigner. 

They  had  not  long  to  wait  before  deliverance 
came.  The  deliverer,  as  chance  would  have  it, 
was  that  curious  adventurer.  Napoleon  III.  Am- 
bition, generous  sympathy  and  fear  for  his  shaking 
throne  were  among  his  motives  in  varying  propor- 
tions, and  it  is  difficult  now  to  feel  great  enthusiasm 
or  great  abhorrence  for  him.  But  Mrs  Browning 
was  his  faithful  admirer,  through  the  hopes  of  the 
war  of  1859,  through  the  peace  of  Villafranca,  and 
the  tortuous  intrigues  which  succeeded  it.  Her 
defence  of  him  may  be  gathered  from  that  fine 
satire  An  August  Voice.  By  the  terms  of  Villa- 
franca the  Grand  Duke  was  to  be  restored  to 
Tuscany,  like  his  fellow-potentates,  and  Napoleon 
formally  recommended  the  Tuscan  provisional 
government  to  accept  him. 

You'll  take  back  your  Grand  Duke? 

There  are  some  things  to  object  to. 
He  cheated,  betrayed,  and  forsook, 

Then  called  in  the  foe  to  protect  you. 
He  taxed  you  for  wines  and  for  meats 

Throughout  that  eight  years'  pastime 
Of  Austria's  drum  in  your  streets — 

Of  course  you  remember  the  last  time 
You  called  back  your  Grand  Duke. 


You'll  take  back  your  Grand  Duke? 
'Twas  weak, that  he  fled  from  the  Pitti; 


222  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [CH 

But  consider  how  little  he  shook 
At  thought  of  bombarding  your  city! 

And,  balancing  that  with  this, 
The  Christian  rule  is  plain  for  us; 

...Or  the  Holy  Father's  Swiss 
Have  shot  his  Perugians  in  vain  for  us^. 

You'll  call  back  the  Grand  Duke. 

Pray  take  back  your  Grand  Duke. 

— I,  too,  have  suffered  persuasion. 
All  Europe,  raven  and  rook. 

Screeched  at  me  armed  for  your  nation. 


You'll  take  back  your  Grand  Duke? 

Observe,  there's  no  one  to  force  it, — 
Unless  the  Madonna,  Saint  Luke 

Drew  for  you,  choose  to  endorse  it. 
I  charge  you  by  great  Saint  Martino 

And  prodigies  quickened  by  wrong. 
Remember  your  dead  on  Ticino; 

Be  worthy,  be  constant,  be  strong. 
—Bah!— Call  back  the  Grand  Duke! 

The  perplexing  question  of  the  rights  and 
wrongs  of  Napoleon  Ill's  policy  called  forth  also 
his  only  true  political  satire  from  the  king  of 
Victorian  literature,  Tennyson  (1809-92).  As 
a  rule,  on  political  and  social  themes  he  confined 
himself  to  casting  side-lights  only,  as  he  does  in 
the  fanciful  tale  of  The  Princess,  full  of  sociology 
as  it  is.  y  At  other  times  he  states  political  maxims, 
as  in  the  beautiful  lines  "  Love  thou  thy  land,"  but 
in  a  most  unsatiric  strain.  He  made,  however,  a 
definite  political  attack,  although  even  then  not  a 
party  one,  in  The  Third  of  February  1852,  C^fapo- 
leon  III  had  reached  his  throne  by  an  inglorious 
route  of  treachery  and  violence.  Elected  President 
of  the  Republic,  he  aimed  at  becoming  a  despotic 

1  Sack  of  Perugia,  1859. 


yii]  TENNYSON  223 

Emperor.  His  opponents  were  dangerous,  and  he 
crushed  them  by  the  coup  d'4tat  of  December  1851. 
There  was  a  tale  of  dead  in  the  streets  of  Paris,  and 
the  Republican  leaders  who  could  not  take  flight 
were  transported  to  Cayenne.  It  was  necessary, 
of  course,  for  England  to  recognize  a  government 
accepted  by  Frenchmen ;  but  the  English  press 
was  loud  in  its  condemnation  of  Napoleon.  Not 
unnaturally  responsible  statesmen  deprecated  such 
outspoken  criticism  of  a  neighbouring  government, 
and  their  view  was  made  clear  in  a  debate  in  the 
Lords.  Tennyson  gives  the  case  on  the  other  side  : 
a  rich  and  mellow  voice  as  always. 

We  love  not  this  French  God,  the  child  of  Hell, 
Wild  War,  who  breaks  the  converse  of  the  wise ; 

But  though  we  love  kind  Peace  so  well, 
We  dare  not  ev'n  by  silence  sanction  lies. 

It  might  be  safe  our  censures  to  withdraw ; 

And  yet,  my  Lords,  not  well;  there  is  a  higher  law. 

As  long  as  we  remain,  we  must  speak  free, 
Tho'  all  the  storm  of  Europe  on  us  break; 

No  little  German  state  are  we, 

But  the  one  voice  in  Europe:  we  must  speak; 

That  if  to-night  our  greatness  were  struck  dead. 

There  might  be  left  some  record  of  the  things  we  said. 

If  you  be  fearful,  then  must  we  be  bold. 

Our  Britain  cannot  salve  a  tyrant  o'er. 
Better  the  waste  Atlantic  roU'd 

On  her  and  us  and  ours  for  evermore. 
What!  have  we  fought  for  Freedom  from  our  prime. 
At  last  to  dodge  and  palter  with  a  public  crime? 

The  fault  of  self-righteous  criticism  of  foreign 
nations  is  so  easy  to  condemn,  that  it  is  as  well  to 
remember  that  there  is  a  moral  sense  to  be  shocked 
by  wicked  actions.     Indeed  one  cannot  but  admire 


224  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

the  tact  with  which  Tennyson  takes  his  stand  on 
principle,  even  if  the  poem  is  not  among  his  best. 
Things  of  course  have  changed  now,  and  England 
possesses  no  longer  the  sole  free  public  opinion  in 
Europe.  Later  in  life  the  poet's  chief  political 
utterances  were  concerned  with  the  dangers  of 
Democracy.  But  he  was  a  Democrat  so  far  as  he 
was  a  politician  at  all,  and  the  few  lines  of  political 
reflection  which  occur  among  his  social  criticisms 
can  hardly  be  called  satire,  especially  as  they  are 
not  delivered  in  propria  persona^  but  through  the 
gloomy  medium  of  Lochsley  Hall  Sixty  Years 
After. 

Step  by  step  we  gain'd  a  freedom  known  to  Europe,  known  to 

all; 
Step  by  step  we  rose   to  greatness,— thro'  the  tonguesters 

we  may  fall. 

You  that  woo  the  Voices — tell  them  "old  experience  is  a  fool," 
Teach  your  flatter'd  kings  that  only  those  who  cannot  read 
can  rule. 

Pluck  the  mighty  from  their  seat,  but  set  no  meek  ones  in 

their  place; 
Pillory  Wisdom  in  your  markets,  pelt  your  offal  in  her  face. 

The  dramatic  monologue  no  doubt  gives  only  a 
mood  of  Tennyson  at  most,  but  the  expressions  of 
his  moods  are  worth  our  hearing.  Of  recent  poets 
he  seems  preeminently  sage  ;  both  his  verse  and 
his  thought  show  a  mature  balance  of  the  faculties, 
characteristic  perhaps  of  the  ripe  Revolutionary 
era. 

Curiously  enough,  Robert  Browning  (1812-89) 
also  dealt  with  the  career  of  Napoleon  III.    Are 


VII]  ROBERT  BROWNING  225 

we  to  call  Prince  Hohenstiel-Schwangau,  Saviour 
of  Society,  a  political  satire?  It  is  not  easy  to 
answer  the  question.  The  poem  gives  an  extremely 
subtle  exposition  of  the  motives  which  may  have 
influenced  Napoleon,  or  at  least  those  which  he 
might  have  wished  to  be  attributed  to  him.  And 
certainly  Browning  makes  out  a  case  for  his  client ; 
but  perhaps  he  deals  too  much  with  the  pure 
theory  of  human  actions,  and  does  not  allow  enough 
for  daily  hopes  and  fears  and  the  excitement  of  the 
game.  He  is  cruel,  I  think,  to  the  French  Repub- 
licans of  '48  and  '51,  but  so  was  Napoleon. 

There  was  uprising,  masks  dropped,  flags  unfurled, 

Weapons  outflourished  in  the  wind,  my  faith! 

Heavily  did  he  let  his  fist  fall  plumb 

On  each  perturber  of  the  public  peace, 

No  matter  whose  the  wagging  head  it  broke — 

From  bald-pate  craft  and  greed  and  impudence 

Of  nighthawk  at  first  chance  to  prowl  and  prey 

For  glory  and  a  little  gain  beside, 

Passing  for  eagle  in  the  dusk  of  the  age, — 

To  florid  head-top,  foamy  patriotism 

And  tribunitial  daring,  breast  laid  bare 

Through  confidence  in  rectitude,  with  hand 

On  private  pistol  in  the  pocket:  these 

And  all  the  dupes  of  these,  who  lent  themselves 

As  dust  and  feather  do,  to  help  offence 

0'  the  wind  that  whirls  them  at  you,  then  subsides 

In  safety  somewhere,  leaving  filth  afloat. 

Annoyance  you  may  brush  from  eyes  and  beard, — 

These  he  stopped. 

Indeed,  so  did  Austria  in  Italy,  although  with 
an  alien  hand.  Austria,  too,  was  intent  like 
Browning's  Prince  on  material  improvements  and 
desired  a  popular  prosperity  at  least  till  1848. 
But  one  cannot  help  doubting  whether  Napoleon  III 

o.  15 


226  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

was  either  so  clear-sighted  or  so  strong  as  the 
great  mental  analyst  represents  him. 

From  the  philosophic  calm  of  the  great  early- 
Victorian  poets,  we  descend  in  recent  times  among 
a  more  excitable  generation.  It  is  true  that  men 
like  Byron  or  Shelley  could  use  unmeasured 
language,  but  we  always  seem  to  feel  a  certain 
inner  composure  in  their  works.  In  our  days  the 
rapid  communication  of  news  and  of  opinions 
appears  to  have  produced  more  surging,  if  less 
lasting,  emotions  on  all  topics  ;  and  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  our  literature,  too,  shows  signs  of  a 
mob-like  enthusiasm.  To  be  living  it  must  reflect 
the  temper  of  the  time,  and 

if  we  have  a  little  weakness, 
'Tis  a  passion  for  a  flight  of  thunderbolts. 

Algernon  Swinburne  (1837 — 1909)  was  perhaps 
the  first  great  poet  to  show  this  gusty,  emotional 
tendency,  as  he  was  the  most  sustained  in  passion 
and  noblest  in  form  of  the  new  school.  A  fervent 
republican  and  nationalist,  although  now  left  some 
way  behind  by  the  progress  of  our  opinions,  he  was 
an  ardent  opponent  of  the  Temporal  Papacy  and 
of  the  Second  French  Empire,  both  of  which 
powers  fell  in  the  last  Revolutionary  year  1870. 
His  sonnet  on  the  Papal  Allocution,  "  Papule  mi, 
quid tibi feci?"  is  almost  too  rageful  in  manner; 
but  clerical  sanctimoniousness  is  hard  to  bear. 


VII]  SWINBURNE  227 

Thou  hast  washed  thy  hands  and  mouth,  saying,  "Am  I  not 
Clean  ? "  And  thy  lips  were  bloody,  and  there  was  none 
To  speak  for  man  against  thee,  no,  not  one; 

This  hast  thou  done  to  us,  Iscariot. 

A  living  foe  may  expect  heavy  blows,  but  one 
wishes  that  Swinburne  had  not  made  Napoleon  Ill's 
death  a  subject  for  exultation.  Of  course  he  was 
fighting  tradition  :  and  feared  perhaps  there  might 
again  be  Moderates  converted,  like  those  who 
rallied  to  the  Empire  in  1870.  There  is  a  fine 
sonnet  of  his  on  these  latter,  traitors,  he  says,  to 
France. 

Then  she  took 
In  her  bruised  hands  their  broken  pledge,  and  eyed 
These  men  so  late  so  loud  upon  her  side 
With  one  inevitable  and  tearless  look. 
That  they  might  see  her  face  whom  they  forsook; 
And  they  beheld  what  they  had  left,  and  died. 

A  carping  critic  might  say  that  the  rhyme  a 

little  damages  the  thought  in  the  last  line ;   the 

^'  intabescantque  "  from  which  it  is  imitated  is  so 

much    more    real    a    phrase.    Swinburne    seems 

frankly  to  have  accepted  the  taint  of  unfairness 

which  clings  to  all  satire ;  but  no  one  can  deny 

the  stirring  quality  of  his  verse.     In  the  attacks 

on  the  House  of  Lords  during  the  agitation  over 

the  Third  Reform  Bill  in  1883,  he  took  a  formidable 

part,  lending,  besides  the  irony  and  scorn  of  which 

he  was  master,  a  kind  of  romance  to  the  cause  of 

novelty  in  such  a  poem  as  "  Clear  the  way  !  " 

Now  that  all  these  things  are  rotten,  all  their  gold  is  rust, 
Quenched  the  pride  they  lived  by,  dead  the  faith  and  cold 

the  lust. 
Shall  their  heritage  not  also  turn  again  to  dust? 

15—2 


228  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

But  Swinburne  was  an  Imperialist  as  well  as  a 
Liberal.  No  one  has  written  fierier  verse  in 
support  of  the  Navy  ;  or  more  fervently  declared 
for  the  Union  with  Ireland.  One  poem,  The 
Commonweal,  on  the  Home  Rule  movement,  is  the 
perfection  of  wrathful,  stinging  rhetoric. 

What  are  these  that  howl  and  hiss  across  the  strait  of  westward 
water  ? 
What  is  he  who  floods  our  ears  with  speech  in  flood? 
See  the  long  tongue  lick  the  dripping  hand  that  smokes  and 
reeks  of  slaughter! 
See  the  man  of  words  embrace  the  man  of  blood! 

Old  men  eloquent  who  truckle  to  the  traitors  of  the  time> 
Love  not  ofiice — power  is  no  desire  of  theirs: 

What  if  yesterday  their  hearts  recoiled  from  blood  and  fraud 
and  crime? 
Conscience  erred — an  error  which  to-day  repairs. 

Conscience   only   now   convinces    them   of  strange,    though 
transient  error; 
Only  now  they  see  how  fair  is  treason's  face; 
See  how  true  the  falsehood,  just  the  theft,  and  blameless  is 
the  terror. 
Which  replaces  just  and  blameless  men  in  place. 

One  wonders  what  posterity  will  think  of  these 
lines  when  the  ashes  of  the  Home  Rule  controversy 
have  at  length  grown  cold.  If  it  condemns  them, 
it  will  also  record,  one  would  think,  the  reign  of 
crime  in  Ireland  which  gave  rise  to  their  indig- 
nation. The  same  emotions'are  expressed  in  a  less 
transcendental  vein  by  Mr  Kipling  in  his  lines  on 
the  result  of  the  Parnell  Commission. 

Cleared  in  the  face  of  all  mankind  beneath  the  winking  skies, 
Like  Phoenixes  from  Phoenix  Park  (and  what  lay  there  ?)  they 

rise. 
Go  shout  it  to  the  emerald  seas — give  word  to  Erin  now, 
Her  honourable  gentlemen  are  cleared — and  this  is  how: — 


VII]       MK  KIPLING  AND  MR  BLUNT       229 

They  only,  paid  the  Moonlighter  his  cattle-hocking  price, 
They  only  helped  the  murderer  with  counsel's  best  advice, 
But — sure  it  keeps  their  honour  white— the  learned  court 

believes 
They  never  gave  a  piece  of  plate  to  murderers  or  thieves. 

They  never   told   the   ramping   crowd  to   card  a  woman's 

hide. 
They  never  marked  a  man  for  death — what  fault  of  theirs  he 

died? 
They  only  said  "Intimidate,"  and  talked  and  went  away— 
By  God,  the  boys  that  did  the  work  were  braver  men  than 

they! 

One  cannot  but  be  conscious  of  a  change  in 
altitude  from  one  poet  to  the  other,  but  the  direct, 
prosaic  reasoning  and.swinging  metre  of  Mr  Kipling 
need  fear  no  comparison. 

Mr  Kipling  is,  however,  best  known  now  as  the 
singer  of  a  militant  Imperialism  and  of  the  British 
Colonies  overseas.  His  work  here  is  mainly  of  a 
laudatory  description,  but  occasionally  he  turns 
with  patriotic  vehemence  to  satirize  the  home- 
staying  Englishman  and  his  pursuit  of  pleasure 
and  frivolity.  The  "  flannelled  fools  "  and  "  muddied 
oafs"  are  within  everyone's  recollection.  Not  that 
he  does  not  often  speak,  as  in  The  White  Man's 
Burden,  of  the  responsibilities  of  Empire  in  a  tone, 
alike  unexultant  and  unsatiric.  But  throughout 
his  ideal  is  the  rule  of  the  adventurous  Anglo- 
Saxon  over  other  races. 

None  the  less,  the  Imperialistic  ideal  has  not 
been  undisputed  in  English  literature.  Mr  W.  S. 
Blunt  joined  issue  with  The  White  Man's  Burden 
in  Satan  Absolved,  a  play  which  shows  considerable 


230  LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE  [ch. 

rhetorical  skill.  To  him  Empire  over  other  races 
does  not  present  itself  in  a  praiseworthy  light.  In 
the  drama,  his  Satan  addresses  his  God  thus  : — 

Nay,  thou  dost  not  hear, 
Or  thou  hadst  loosed  thy  hand  Hke  lightning  in  the  clear 
To  smite  their  ribald  lips  with  palsy,  these  false  priests, 
These  Lords  who  boast  thine  aid  at  their  high  civic  feasts. 
The  ignoble  shouting  crowds,  the  prophets  of  their  Press, 
Pouring  their  daily  flood  of  bald  self-righteousness. 
Their  poets  who  write  big  of  the  "White  Burden."    Trash! 
The  White  Man's  Burden,  Lord,  is  the  burden  of  his  cash. 

Thus  each  side  continues  the  old  satiric  warfare. 
They  are  hearty  combatants,  and  their  censures 
are  unreserved.  So  did  the  greater  genius  of 
Dryden  turn  and  rend  his  insulting  opponents, 
Shadwell  and  Settle,  in  the  first  days  of  Whig  and 
Tory. 

Yet  it  is  pleasant  to  turn  from  the  clamour  and 
dust  to  the  work  of  one  of  the  most  poetic  of  poets, 
Mr  William  Watson.  Mr  Watson  is  so  emphatically 
a  scholar,  that  it  is  hard  to  say  to  what  modern 
poetical  tendency  he  belongs.  The  forms  of  many 
schools  are  blended  in  him.  Perhaps  he  most  re- 
minds us  of  the  equable,  lucid  sadness  of  Matthew 
Arnold,  but  Tennyson's  rich  imagination  and 
Wordsworth's  recluse  musings  have  their  part  in 
him.  His  satire  has  a  certain  aloofiiess  about  it, 
one  might  say  an  unworldliness,  which  makes  it 
hard  to  associate  with  party-conflicts,  though  I 
imagine  his  general  point  of  view  would  be  that  of 
a  Liberal.  How  admirable  is  the  Sketch  of  a 
Political  Personage  1885  \    The  grave  couplets 


VII]  MR  WATSON  231 

skilfully  avoid  the  air  of  smartness,  almost  insepar- 
able from  the  imitation  of  Pope.  One  can  only 
object  to  the  odd  fourth  line. 

Cast  in  this  fortunate  Olympian  mould, 
The  admirable  [Hartington ?]  behold; 
Whom  naught  could  dazzle  or  mislead,  unless 
'Twere  the  wild  Hght  of  fatal  cautiousness; 
Who  never  takes  a  step  from  his  own  door 
But  he  looks  backward  ere  he  looks  before, 
When  once  he  starts,  'twere  rash  indeed  to  say- 
That  he  will  travel  far  upon  his  way: 
But  this  is  sure,  he  will  not  turn  aside. 
Or  at  the  beck  of  Jack  o'  Lanthorn  ride. 
The  flippant  deem  him  dull  and  saturnine. 
The  summed-up  phlegm  of  a  whole  ducal  line; 
Others  admire  that  sober  mass  and  weight — 
A  simple  Doric  pillar  of  the  State, 
So  inharmonious  with  the  baser  style 
Of  neighbouring  columns  grafted  on  the  pile, 
So  proud  and  imperturbable  and  chill. 
Chosen  and  matched  so  excellently  ill. 
He  seems  a  monument  of  pensive  grace. 
Ah,  how  majestically  out  of  place! 

Would  that  some  call  he  could  not  choose  but  heed — 
Of  private  passion  or  of  public  need — 
At  last  might  sting  to  life  that  slothful  power, 
And  snare  him  into  greatness  for  an  hour! 

Mr  Watson's  chief  contributions  to  political 
satire,  however,  have  been  his  assaults  on  the 
Sultan  of  Turkey  during  the  Armenian  massacres. 
He  did  well  to  be  angry  at  that  atrocious  fact :  but, 
perhaps,  fiery  indignation  is  not  best  suited  to  his 
somewhat  chill  Muse.  I  may  quote  Europe  at  the 
Play  as  being  probably  the  finest  of  these  poems 
of  his.  It  is  written  in  staider  mood  than  the  rest : 
and,  if  present  events  in  Turkey  leave  us  wondering 
whether  we  were  deluded  in  1896  or  are  dreaming 
now,  Europe's  attitude  is  consistent  still. 


232    LATER  ELEVATED  SATIRE         [ch.  vii 

O  languid  audience,  met  to  see 

The  last  act  of  the  tragedy 

On  that  terrific  stage  afar, 

Where  burning  towns  the  footlights  are, — 

O  listless  Europe,  day  by  day 

Callously  sitting  out  the  play! 


Perchance,  in  tempest  and  in  blight. 

On  Europe,  too,  shall  fall  the  night! 

She  sees  the  victim  overborne. 

By  worse  than  ravening  lions  torn. 

She  sees,  she  hears,  with  soul  unstirred. 

And  lifts  no  hand,  and  speaks  no  word. 

But  vaunts  a  brow  like  theirs  who  deem 

Men's  wrongs  a  phrase^  men's  rights  a  dream. 

Yet  haply  she  shall  learn,  too  late, 

In  some  blind  hurricane  of  Fate, 

How  fierily  alive  the  things 

She  held  as  fool's  imaginings, 

And,  though  circuitous  and  obscure, 

The  feet  of  Nemesis  how  sure. 

It  is  hard  to  draw  general  conclusions  from 
history ;  but  perhaps  this  last  couplet  has  claims 
on  our  acceptance. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

CONCLUSION 

The  course  of  English  Political  Satire  has  led 
us  past  many  stages  of  the  national  history  and 
literature.  Naturally  there  are  still  more  which 
had  no  direct  connection  with  Satiric  Poetry : 
some  of  the  greatest  names  in  English  verse  are 
necessarily  absent.  But  as  a  whole  English  satire 
furnishes  an  excellent  commentary  on  events  and 
on  the  growth  of  the  national  genius. 

We  started  from  the  time  when  a  growing 
national  consciousness  under  John  led  to  a  criticism 
of  national  institutions  and  political  personages. 
The  rapid  development  of  political  parties  under 
Henry  III  brought  with  it  a  real  discussion  of  the 
principles  of  government.  Meantime  the  same 
national  feeling  accompanied  by  the  spread  of 
culture  results  in  the  slow  abandonment  of  Norman 
French  and  the  use  of  the  native  tongue  of  the 
land  which  could  appeal  to  a  larger  audience. 
Then  the  showy  reign  of  Edward  III  is  reflected 
in  contemporary  satire,  its  unattractive  Leonine 
hexameters,  its  attacks  on  foreign    nations,   its 

15—5 


234  CONCLUSION  [ch. 

consciousness  of  rottenness  at  home.  The  finer 
side  of  its  life,  the  chivalry,  tenderness  and  grace 
of  it,  are  preserved  for  us  in  Chaucer,  but  Chaucer 
was  no  satirist  in  politics.  So  he  gives  us  the 
charm  of  the  Cisalpine  and  French  influences 
under  Richard  II,  not  the  hoUowness  of  that 
premature  culture,  nor  the  misery  of  the  Peasants' 
Revolt.  Yet  these  cankers  are  the  theme  of 
rougher  verse,  which,  with  its  theological  squabbles 
and  jagged  metres,  heralds  the  political  and 
literary  decadence  of  the  Fifteenth  Century. 

Then  comes  the  nursing  despotism  of  the 
Tudors,  which  fostered  the  national  growth,  which 
welcomed  the  Reformation  and  the  Renaissance  to 
stimulate  it,  which  silenced  political  criticism,  and 
gave  full  play  to  Art.  Thus  satire,  save  in  furtive 
ballads,  takes  a  social  form.  The  age,  it  seems,  is 
much  in  fault,  but  its  rulers  are  wise  and  good. 
We  have  also  the  nobler  satire  of  national  foes, 
but  even  that  is  transferred  to  the  dreamland  of 
the  Faerie  Qiiee^ie,  or  the  make-believe  of  the 
play-house. 

We  next  find  despotism  growing  old,  and  the 
two  religious  and  political  parties  at  strife :  and 
in  satire  there  commences  a  hail  of  witticisms, 
diluted  by  Wither's  endless  harangues.  But  practi- 
cal political  argument  is  only  met  with  in  a  few 
ballads,  which,  foundlings  as  they  were,  involved 
no  risk  to  their  parents.  Then  even  these  weak 
voices  die  away  under  CromwelFs  tyranny. 


VIII]      STAGES  IN  POLITICAL  SATIRE     235 

pTrue  political  satire,  like  the  steady  current  of 
English  political  life,  begins  with  the  Restoration  J 
It  was  then,  if  ever,  that  Englishmen  chose 
evolution,  not  revolution,  for  the  national  watch- 
word, Charles  II  himself,  with  all  his  charm  and 
his  vices,  being  but  the  straw  to  show  which  way 
the  wind  was  blowing.  Now  we  have  the  satires 
which  deal  with  practical  policy,  and  with  the  facts 
of  political  life.  The  old  imaginative  literary 
models,  the  witty,  but  unprecise,  abuse  of  Cleve- 
land, became  less  and  less  suitable  for  the  new 
needs.  Poets  found  their  guide  in  the  contem- 
porary French  classics,  with  their  sense  of  form, 
their  good  sense,  and  their  epigrammatic  reasoning. 
This  practical  school  of  poetry  reaches  its  zenith 
in  the  veiled  history  of  Dry  den's  Absalom  and 
Achitophel.  After  Dry  den,  the  influence  of  the 
Latins  and  the  French  tendency  to  abstraction 
combine  to  withdraw  the  best  poets  from  political 
warfare,  which  often  lends  only  an  increased 
bitterness  to  their  moral  satires.  |For  current 
politics  up  to  1760  we  must  turn  largely  to  ballads 
and  songs,  which  express  such  wider  public  opinion 
as  still  existed  under  the  oligarchy.  Great  men 
did  homage  to  their  importance  by  writing  them. 

A  new  era  commences  with  the  RoUiad. 
Public  opinion  was  now  awake.  Parliamentary  war- 
fare and  party-discipline  were  become  habits. 
There  began  the  familiar  struggle  to  capture  the 
public  for  one  side  or  the  other.    Scurrilous  in  the 


236  CONCLUSION  [CH. 

Rolliad,  lofty  and  zealous  in  the  Anti-Jacobin, 
poetical  satire  grew  to  be  a  powerful  weapon  in 
the  contest.  With  Byron  it  becomes  a  dissemi- 
nator of  new  ideas,  and  appeals  to  a  European 
audience.  The  author  of  The  Vision  of  Judgment 
ranks  with  Dryden,  for  in  satire  he  was  the  chief 
of  the  great  Romantic  movement,  which  expressed 
the  ideals  of  the  time.  And  the  Romantic  move- 
ment was  a  vivifying,  not  a  regulating  force,  like 
Classicism. 

The  stream  then  divides  :  Praed  accommodates 
the  lighter  satire,  descendant  of  the  ballads,  to 
modern  manners.  Mrs  Browning  works  the  inter- 
national vein  of  Byron  in  the  same  spirit.  And 
the  succession  of  both  of  these  continues  to  the 
present  day. 

It  is  evident  from  the  foregoing  that  English 
poetical  satire  is  preeminently  English  in  character. 
It  admits  foreign  influence,  but  its  motives,  purposes 
and  ideals  are  drawn  from  national  circumstances. 
It  developed  in  close  connection  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  party-system.  Its  temper  is  English. 
True  the  rich  imagination  we  are  accustomed  to  in 
English  literature  cannot  well  show  itself  in  satire, 
though  the  feat  was  accomplished  by  Byron. 
Satire  deals  too  much  with  the  humdrum  and 
prosaic  for  that.  But  more  everyday  qualities  of 
Englishmen  are  largely  represented.  Of  humour, 
wit  and  good  sense  it  is  full.  I  have  endeavoured 
to  select  such  passages  as  illustrations  which  bring 


VIII]  QUALITIES  OF  ENGLISH  SATIRE    237 

out  the  best  points  of  the  authors.  Not  to  mention 
the  fact  that  stale  jesting  is  a  mere  weariness  to 
read,  it  is  the  finer  passages  which  supply  us  with 
the  positive  achievement  both  of  the  individual 
author  and  of  his  times.  And  as  a  rule  it  is  that 
which  gives  its  character  to  a  period :  it  is  that 
which  constitutes  its  legacy  to  posterity. 

In  spite  of  its  general  inferiority  as  imaginative 
poetry,  it  has  been  seen  how  largely  political 
satire  shares  in  the  merits  of  other  contemporary 
verse.  Elizabethan  charm,  eighteenth-century 
keenness,  Romantic  inspiration,  are  all  to  be  found 
in  it  in  due  season.  But  it  also  has  other  qualities 
of  a  more  permanent  nature. 

It  is  practical.  Even  its  theories  have  the  air 
of  being  hastily  manufactured  for  a  particular  end. 
It  is  generally  a  party- weapon,  yit  is  at  its  best  in  ^^ 
criticizing  facts,  in  applying  experience  to  theory. 
Its  object  is  to  prove  someone's  incompetence,  to 
revenge  some  misdeed,  to  decry  some  scheme.  Its 
methods  are  empiric  and  inductive.  Never  does 
it  deduce  happily  from  a  doctrine.  J 

Then  it  is  serious  on  the  whole.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  find  another  series  of  works  which  have 
so  much  wit  and  humour  and  so  little  gaiety.  JIhe  ^ 
pleasure  of  satire  is  taken  sadly  here,  and  if  we  come 
upon  a  rowdy  kind  of  mirth,  there  are  wine-stains 
on  the  page.  I  cannot  but  think  this  lack  a  real 
defect,  for  a  mild  cheerfulness,  admirable  on 
another  occasion,  is  hardly  a  sufficient  corrective 
to  the  bitterness  of  satire. 


238  CONCLUSION  [ch. 

Allied  to  the  lack  of  gaiety  is  the  roughness  of 
all  but  the  latest  English  satire.  Mere  ridicule 
does  not  suffice  it.  To  know  its  adversary  is 
mortally  wounded  it  must  see  him  disembowelled. 
So  a  bludgeon  is  preferred  to  the  rapier.  Too 
often  this  has  given  an  opportunity  to  brutal 
malice  ;  at  its  best  there  is  an  unspiteful  humour 
in  the  sport  which  is  not  un-engaging. 

/It  would  be  hard  to  fix  on  any  particular  genre 
of  poetry  for  political  satire,  as  it  has  employed 
practically  all :  but  one  may  notice  that  the  two 
best  satires  in  the  realm  of  politics  have  both  been 
narratives.  Partly  doubtless  this  is  due  to  the 
greater  scope  for  varied  powers  allowed  by  a 
tale.  Also,  perhaps,  the  narrative  form  may  be 
more  suitable  for  a  nation,  not  prone  to  reflective 
generalizations. 

It  has  abundantly  appeared  how  powerful  a 
weapon  political  satire  is.  At  the  worst  it  could 
always  catch  the  ear  of  the  educated  public,  and 
even  at  times  of  the  uneducated.  Marvell's  lam- 
poons helped  to  solidify  the  Country-Party,  and 
form  the  future  Whig  policy.  Dryden  not  only 
performed  a  like  service  for  the  Tories,  but  it  may 
be  questioned  whether  he  has  not  influenced  unduly 
our  view  of  the  events  he  describes.  Shaftesbury 
remains  for  us  "  for  crooked  counsels  fit."  Byron 
again,  besides  his  enormous  contemporary  influence, 
has  coloured  our  estimate  of  the  causes  striving 
for  victory  during  the  European  Restoration. 

These  instances  show  the  power  of  satire,  but 


VIII]       USES  OF  POLITICAL  SATIRE        239 

do  they  show  its  utility  taken  by  itself?  All  parties 
can  use  it,  and  if  we  approve  of  the  party-creed  or 
laud  the  results  of  some  conflict,  we  shall  think 
the  satires,  that  aided  the  consummation,  of  good 
eff*ect.  Yet  this  benefit  lies  not  in  the  satires,  but 
in  the  cause.  They  were  weapons,  their  use  was 
to  decry  and  to  defame.  They  were  rooted  in 
unfairness.  We  are  agreeably  surprised  when 
they  scourge  in  just  terms  a  real,  undoubted  vice. 
Often  they  attempt  deliberately  to  mislead. 

No  doubt  one  might  say  that  the  very  evils  of 
satire  help  to  produce  a  kind  of  natural  selection 
among  statesmen.  They  increase  the  severity  of 
the  test  a  would-be  ruler  must  undergo  :  they 
make  him  the  more  careful  of  his  behaviour  public 
and  private. 

To  this  fierce  merit  we  might  add  the  milder 
one  of  its  function  in  keeping  public  interest  alive 
among  the  tiresome  details  and  remote  contin- 
gencies which  must  compose  much  of  politics. 
Swift  could  make  even  Wood's  Halfpence  a 
burning  question  ;  and  what  had  the  ordinary 
Englishman  to  do  with  Italy  in  1848? 

Then  again  great  satires  are  written  by  men 
of  genius,  and,  though  they  might  misuse  their 
talent,  such  men  could  not  avoid  laying  stress 
on  the  higher  side  of  the  party-doctrine  they 
represent.  In  this  way  they  not  only  helped  to 
elevate  the  tone  of  politics  in  their  own  time, 
but  also  enriched  their  time's  legacy  to  the  future. 


240  CONCLUSION  [CH.  VIII 

Finally,  there  is  another  service  political  satires 
render,  which  is  peculiarly  necessary  to  a  govern- 
ment based  on  discussion.  One  of  the  greatest 
evils  in  such  a  state  is  the  prevalence  of  mere 
words  and  phrases,  and  of  the  vague  Pecksniffian 
virtues.  \Now  to  satire  cant  and  humbug  are 
proper  game.  It  brings  fine  professions  down  to 
fact,  points  the  contrast  between  the  commonplace 
reality  and  its  tinsel  dress,  and  by  the  dread  of 
ridicule  raises  the  standard  of  plain-dealing.  Other 
means  of  criticism  as  well  act  as  a  check  on  more 
opprobrious  faults  in  public  life.  But  satire  is  the 
best  agent  to  keep  us  free  from  taking  words  for 
substance. 


INDEX 


Absalom  and  Ac/titophel,  97- 

101,  208,  235 
Absalom     and     Achitophel, 

Second  Part,  101,  125 
Age  of  Bronze,  The,  210-12 
Anne,  Queen,  109-12 
Anti-Jacobin,  The,  155-64 

Ballads,   7-13,  16-17,  26-30, 
44-5,  67-73,  83,  105-7,  109- 
12,113-14,116-17,121,123, 
165 
Barons'  War,  The,  12-16 
Battle  of  Lewes,  The,  13-16 
Blunt,  Mr  W.  S.,  229-30 
Brome,  A.,  68-70 
Browning,  Mrs,  218-22 
Browning,  Robt,  224-6 
Butler,  Siinuel,  84-91 
Byron,  196^212 

Campbell,  Thos.,  216 
Canning,    Geo.,   154-65,   175, 

210-11 
Casa  Guidi  Windows,  218-21 
Castlereagh,  167,  171-3,  201, 

209,  213 
Character  of  Holland,  80-1 
Character  of  a  Man  of  no 

Honour,  125 


Charles  I,  57-60,  62-5,  68-70 
Charles  II,  73,  75,  77,  80,  83, 

92-3,  96 
Chatterton,  136 
Church,  Medieval  complaints 

against  the,  7-11,  20,  28-9, 

32   35-7 
Churchill,  132-5 
Cleveland,  63-8 
Coalition  Guide,  183^ 
Coleridge,  156-7 
Colin  Clout,  35-8 
Commonwealth,  The,  68-72 
Country  Party,  The,  77,  92-3 
Cromwell,  68,  70-1 

Davenant,  Sir  Wm.,  76-7 

Defoe,  126 

Denham,  Sir  J.,  77-9,  81,  97 

Disraeli,  183 

Dryden,  96-105, 124-5, 127, 208 

Edward  I,  13-14,  16 
Edward  III,  17-18,  21-2,  31 
Edward  VI,  44 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  46-7,  52-3, 

56-7 
Ellis,  Geo.,  141-4,  156 
Europe  at  the  Play,  231-2 
Exclusion  Bill,  93-6 


242 


INDEX 


F.D.,  186-7 

Faerie  Queene,  The,  52-4 

Falconer,  135 

Fifteenth  Century,  The,  29-30, 

31-2 
FitzGerald,  182 
FitzPatrick,  Gen.  R.,  141, 144, 

145-6 
French  influence  on  English 

poetry,  75-6,  97,  197-8 
French  Revolution,  152-3 
Frere,  J.  H.,  158 
Fudge  Family  in  Paris,  The, 

171-3 

Garth,  126 
Gay,  118-20 
George  I,  113-18 
George  II,  123,  128-30 
George  III,  130/2, 137-9, 144- 

52,  166-7,  19(9-200,  203-5 
George  IV,  166-7,  174 
Gifford,  155 

Gladstone,  184,  186-7,  228 
"Golias,"  10-11 

Harcourt,  Sir  Wm.,  189 

Henry  II,  10-11 

Henry  III,  12-16 

Henry  IV,  29 

Henry  VI,  31 

Henry  VII,  33 

Henry  VIII,  34,  38,  40,  46 

Hervey,  Lord,  123 

Hind  and  the  Panther,  The, 

102-5 
Holy  Alliance,  The,  171,  195, 

209-11 
Hood,  216 

Hook,  Theodore,  174 
Hudihras,  84-91 

Imitation  of  Horaces  Epistle 

to  Augustus,  128-9 
Imitation  of  the  Prophecy  of 

Nereus,  114-15 


Instructions  to   a   Painter, 

78-9,  81-2 
Italian  influence  on  English 

poetry,  40-2,  198-9 

James  I,  57 
James  II,  101-7 
John,  King,  7,  9,  10 

Kipling,  Mr  Rudyard,  228-9 

Ladies  in  Parliament,  The, 

184-6 
Liars,  The,  145 
Liberalism  1815-20,  193-6 
Literature,    Historical    value 

of,  1-7 
Little  John  Nobody,  45 
Livery  and  Maintenance,  24, 

31-2 
Lollards,  28-9 
Loves  of  the  Triangles,  The, 

161-2 
Lyndsay,  Sir  D.,  42-3 

MacFlecknoe,  101,  125 
MacGregor,     Malcolm,      see 

Mason 
Map,  Walter,  10-11 
Marlowe,  54 
Marvell,  79-83 
Mask  of  Anarchy,  The,  213- 

15 
Mason,  135 
Medal,  The,  101 
Milton,  60-1 
Miscellanies,  146 
Moore,  168-73 
Morpeth,  Lord,  159 
Mother  Huhherd's  Tale,  49-52 

Needy    Knife-grinder,    The, 

157-9 
New  Morality,  The,  162-4 
Newcastle  Program,me,  The, 

187 


INDEX 


243 


Oldham,  93-5 
Otway,  125 

Palmerston,  181-2 
Peter  Pindar,  147-52 
Piers  the  Plowman^  18-26 
Pindar,  see  Peter  Pindar 
Pitt,  The  elder,  122,  129-31 
Pitt,  The  younger,  139, 142-3, 

145-7,  152,  154,  156-7,  162, 

165 
Plays,  Elizabethan,  54 
Political  Eclogues,  145 
Political    Satire    in    English 

verse — historical   value  of, 

5-7  ;    qualities    of,  236-8  ; 

stages  of,  233-6;  uses  of, 

238-40 
Pope,  127-9 
Popish  Plot,  92 
Pordage,  125 
Praed,  174-82 
Pretender,  The  Old,  113-14 
Prince    Hohenstiel-Schwan- 

gau,  225-6 
Probationary  Odes,  146 
Progress  of  Man,  The,  160-1 
Prophecy  of  Famine,  The,  133 
Pulteney,  [Earl  of  Bath],  121 
Punch,  183-4 
Puritans,  The,  57-72 

Reaction  1815-23,  The,  169- 

73,  193-6,  208-10 
Rebel  Scot,  The,  65-6 
Reformation,  The,  42-5 
Renaissance,  The,  33,  40-2,  47 
Restoration,  The,  72-5 
Retrospect,  The,  176-8 
Revolutions  of  1820,  The,  208- 

10 
Revolutions  of  1848,  The,  216- 

21 
Richard  II,- 21-4,  27-8 
Richard,  Earl  of  Cornwall,  13 
Richard  the  Reddess,  22-4 


Rolliad,  The  139-47 
Rosebery,  Lord,  188 
Rovers,  The,  162 

Scott,  160,  165 

Seaman,  Mr  Owen,  187-92 

Settle,  125 

Shadwell,  125 

Shelley,  212-15 

SliephearcPs  Calendar,  The, 

48-9  Ji 
Shylock  and  the  Pound  of 

Soul  191-2 
Skelton;  38-40 
SketcMofa  Political  Person- 

age,Ud^-l 
Social  Satire  under  the  Tudors, 

54-5 
Southeiy,  157-8, 199-202,206-7 
Spensfer,  48-54 
StateWunces,  The,  126-7 
Surrejr,  Earl  of,  41 
Swift,  111-12 
Swinburne,  226-8 

Tate,  125 

Tennyson,  222-4 

Thackeray,  183 

Thompson,  126 

Tickell,  113-15,  126 

Tories,  93,  102,  106-8,  110-14, 

118,    130-1,    166-7,    174-5, 

178-9 
Townshend,  Lord  J.,  141,  146 
Trevelyan,  184-6 
Tudors,  The,  31-3,  34,  43-4, 

47,  56-7 
Twopenny  Postboy,  The,  169 

Versification — decadence  of, 
29-30 ;  reform  of,  40-1 ; 
changes  in,  25,  76,  127 

Vision  of  Judgment,  The, 
199-208 

Waller,  77-8,  97 


244 


INDEX 


Walpole,   Sir    Robt,   118-23, 

126,  128 
Ward,  Edw.,  109 
Watson,  Mr  Wm.,  230-2 
Wellesley,  Marquess,  159 
Whigs,  93,  96,  107-11,  113-18, 
154,    156,    166-71,     174-5, 
180;  contest  with  George 
II,  123-4,  129-30;  contest 
with    George    III,    130-2, 
137-^,  147 


Whitehead,  126-7 

Why  come  ye  not  to  Court  f 

38-40 
William  III,  107-9 
Wither,  61-3,  67 
Wolcott,   Rev.  J.,  see  Peter 

Pindar 
Wolsey,  Cardinal,  37-40 
Wyatt,  Sir  T.,  41 

Young,  126 


CORRIGENDA 

p.  11  heading,  substitute  GO  LI  AS. 
p.  51, 1.  9  for  "sweate"  read  "sweete." 
p.  62,  1.  5  for  "of"  read  "and." 
p.  77, 1.  14  for  "keeps"  read  "keeps  up." 


Cambridge:   printed  by  john  clay,  m.a.  at  the  university  press. 


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